


Off-Kilter

by ryttu3k



Category: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Super Smash Brothers, The Legend of Zelda
Genre: Academia, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Exploring backgrounds, Family, M/M, Queer Culture, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-20
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-05 21:46:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 53,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/728244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryttu3k/pseuds/ryttu3k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school is out! Having made it through the supposedly best years of their lives with their sanity intact, it's time for the challenges of university, moving out, and growing up. But Link had never thought it would be as hard as this...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel turned sideways! This came about partially due to a review I got, commenting on the twist that happens approximately two thirds of the way through the story that comes before this, The Stuff of Legends. Thinking on it, they had a point - and I still really enjoyed this universe. So, consider this an AU sequel of an AU - one where the twist in The Stuff of Legends never takes place, outlined in the prologue. I do recommend reading that one first, but if not, I've tried to have it stand alone as best as possible.

It had been the Summer Court, that year.

Link's life had become a series of defining events, and the year he turned seventeen, the Summer Court had been the moment that he would most remember. He would remember him and Sheik and Zelda, a sword in his hands, a crown on her head, Sheik's red eyes gazing at him from under long blonde bangs.

He would remember gold medals in the Exhibition and being awakened by glasses of cold water, awkward photographs in front of the press, the sweltering heat of the lights shining on them even in the summer heat.

And he would remember the three of them (and Midna too; in those days, Midna had always been there) stealing away afterwards, a content heap of limbs in the shaded part of what little forest Castle City still had, hands sticky with ice cream and Sheik's head resting gently against his shoulder.

Peace and fun, relaxation and joy, a moment in time where they had shone brilliantly.

And then, after that, had been the long summer, the last long summer before school started again. They had, in fact, gone camping at the lake, and he had taught Zelda and Sheik how to fish and held races to the island. They had climbed Death Mountain and stayed in mountain chalets, Hyrule stretched out beneath them like a painting. They had celebrated.

He and Sheik had not been parted. The penultimate year of school had only strengthened them, and when they finally returned, golden-haired and bronze-skinned after a summer in the sun, it had been to a school where they officially ruled the roost.

Now, there was no time to be distracted, Zelda had told them both seriously. Their final year marked the start of hard work - with university ahead, the choices they made had to be the ones that would carry them forward with further education.

Not focusing was not acceptable. Zelda had her heart set on university and Sheik seemed bound to enter further studies of music, and Link was not going to be left behind.

And so he sat down and learnt, frowning over languages and biology and literature until his plans began to crystallise in his mind. He would, he decided, focus on his passions, and while fencing and archery didn't tend to be a valid university subject, perhaps equestrian would be a way forward.

He would be a vet, he decided firmly, and care for animals like Epona. Malon had stumbled upon this idea too, and so he had found himself with a friend to study with, a helpful reminder on what to do next in biology.

Sheik, at least, had it easy - the study of music required skill and aptitude, not book smarts. And while he certainly was a capable student (far more than Link himself, he thought ruefully, peering across at his literature homework), skill and aptitude was one thing he had had in spades.

And Zelda? Well, Zelda could do seemingly anything she put her mind to - almost single-handedly running the Historical Society, campaigning for updated text books in virtually every class taught in the school, up to and including the subjects she had never even taken, and managing to remain cool and calm and unflustered in the process.

At least, until the false 'pandemic' in Twila became known to the public, and all hell promptly broke loose.

They had learnt, more than a year ago, that their neighbour had been invaded. The Prime Minister's daughter had become a refugee, and although she had found a temporary home of sorts with Zelda and Link and Sheik (but especially Zelda, Link had noted), she still felt the loss of her home acutely. With the invasion and coup now known to the public, Midna was due to say her farewells and depart home to take reigns of the shattered country.

Midna had said goodbye to all of them on a chilly day shortly before solstice, and Link pretended not to notice the tears in Zelda's eyes as they watched her walk through the security gate at the airport with her red head held high.

And then they had returned home, and life had continued on.

They had turned eighteen in the span of a few months - Sheik first, then Zelda (forgoing the usual ball, thankfully, at her request), and then the baby of the group, Link (hardly a baby, he protested, he was only two months younger than Sheik). The plan then had been to move out together, find an apartment near the school - no longer would Zelda and Sheik live at home, and Link would be free of the boarding house.

It had not worked out that way, and yet Link had no complains about it yet, warm and curled up around Sheik in his bed. And at any rate, they would be living on their own soon enough for university...

With impending university also came impending assignments and exams. Link had stopped archery first, and his fencing had dropped from six to four practises a week, then just two. Rides on Epona were few and far between. Twelfth grade students at Castle City High School were not encouraged to focus on their extracurricular activities short of exceptional circumstances, tournaments and meets - instead, every energy would go towards the stress of their final year exams.

Link had stopped going for long walks, and Sheik had began using parkour not just for convenience, but so he could hurry home to bury himself in homework quicker. Zelda had started muttering things under her breath, and once, Link was positive he had heard her speaking in fluent calculus.

The assignments, however, _were_ handed in eventually. And, after a few agonising weeks, the exam period began. Link stormed through them eagerly, had emerged from the final one (biology, the most important of them all), and had promptly thrown his text book into the first bin he had come across.

It had felt particularly cathartic, really.

And then summer, as it was wont to do, arrived again. They had gone to the Summer Festival and eaten ice cream in the sun, and Link had claimed another fencing gold (Sheik, clutching his gymnastics silver, had told him the gold suited him better and had given him his best smile). Link, who had emptied his dorm room out with the last exam, had returned briefly to Kokiri to pack up the rest of his worldly belongings - as an adult, it was time to say goodbye to the children's home that had sheltered him for the past sixteen years.

He had been assured that he was always family there. Hugging Ilia goodbye and clutching a faded picture of a little boy and a young girl with green hair, he had turned his back and returned to the city, and to his friends.

And then they had departed again - one last summer before the start of university, their futures uncertain but for one thing.

They had each other.


	2. Chapter 1

It was always a beautiful feeling, seeing the lake emerge from beyond the fields, and Link found himself smiling as the train drew closer.

The trip from Castle City wasn't long, but Zelda's father had splashed out on one of the most luxurious sleepers on the route. It had paid off - he could lounge on one of the plush seats, footrest up, soft pillow under his head, and watch the scenery roll by. Nearby, a bowl of chips sat nearly finished; beside him, Sheik flipped contentedly through a music book, and across from them, Zelda dozed gently.

Carefully, trying not to elbow Sheik in the head, he reached for another chip and popped it in his mouth. Once they had been freed from the city and then the endless stretch of suburbs, the area had become rural quicker rather than slower. Tiny country towns he couldn't remember the names of whizzed by - the Hylia Express would not stop at those, and they would have to wait for the slower regional trains to see any service. To Link, they were brief flashes of brown and grey amidst a sea of waving green and gold grasses, a cloudless blue sky overhead.

And then, quite suddenly, a brighter, darker blue had emerged from the distance, and Link knew that the lake was close at hand.

By the time the train drew in to Lake Hylia station, he was eager to be free of the train, wincing only a little as he jumped smoothly from air conditioning to the heat and humidity of the lake region. It wasn't a _bad_ feeling, being outside in the summer heat again, but going from one to the other had left his head throbbing briefly.

Sheik winced too as he emerged, and Link gave him a brief smile in commiseration.

The town was the first stop after they had collected their luggage. It was a town that Link had visited before, and he enjoyed the little place. There was still nature here, a small of clean fresh water in the air, lush vegetation colouring the landscape.

It definitely was a more pleasant place than the city, even with its parks. Here, the town sat amongst the lake landscape, complimenting it like Kokiri had complimented its surrounding forests - Castle Town's parks had been almost entirely deliberately planned.

He definitely wasn't a city person, then.

Sheik was, however, and Link watched him shift awkwardly as Zelda picked up groceries and supplies for the next fortnight. They would be cooking on their own while at the lake house, a terrifying prospect - while the town wasn't a huge distance away if they desperately felt the urge to go out for dinner, half an hour by taxi did tend to be an expense that would add up quickly.

Even for Zelda's prodigious wallet size.

But first, they actually had to get there. While Link was responsible for picking up drinks and Sheik jogged across the road to the real estate agent's to pick up the keys, Zelda had been busy - getting groceries, ordering a taxi, checking their bags for anything they had managed to forget. As he returned, a box of bottles in his arms and staggering slightly under its weight, she straightened up.

"The taxi should be here in five minutes," she told him, smiling at the little 'oof' he had made while setting the box down. "Are you alright there?"

"I think my arms stretched," he complained lightly, then gave her a reassuring grin. "I'm fine. I just didn't want to forget anything." The lake house, at least, had drinkable water - but it was rather lacking in juices, soft drinks, coffee (the press was safe and secure in Sheik's luggage, and he only had had to pick up the coffee itself), and, off to one side like they weren't quite sure they were meant to be there, a bottle of red wine, a bottle of whiskey, and a bottle of something that he had never actually seen before but had been drawn to solely due to the fact that it was bright green.

He did like green.

And thankfully, there was plenty of it at the lake house. Link tumbled out of the taxi with a little sigh of contentment, feeling his energy returning as he hurried to and fro, carrying suitcases and shopping bags inside. The agent had been earlier, opening up the windows and allowing the sun to shine in, and once the food had been put away and the bags dumped in the bedrooms, he hurried outside and promptly threw himself into the grass.

The actual lake itself could wait. This was proper wilderness, the road having turned into dirt and trailing off near the house some time ago, and he was all too pleased as the taxi drew further and further away, leaving them alone.

"It's not a forest, but it beats a city, huh?" he said with a drowsy smile, feeling Sheik settle beside him rather than seeing or hearing it (the shadow that crossed over his face might have been an indication). Fingers strayed into Link's hair, and he let out something almost like a purr as he butted his head into Sheik's hand.

"Are you a cat now?" Sheik asked him, sounding amused by Link's reaction to him playing with his hair. "You certainly have the lounging in the sun part down."

Link meowed at him, too content to care much about the gentle rebuke. "It's just - really nice being back in nature."

Zelda chuckled from somewhere nearby - from closer to the house, from the sound of things. "Well, we have a few hours before we attempt dinner - how about a swim?" she suggested. "I mean, we are next to a lake..."

And suddenly, lying in the grass seemed simply dull in comparison.

 

"Okay, okay - Link, date, do, or ditch Malon, Ilia, or... Zelda?"

Link let out an indignant squawk, waving his bottle of bright green liquor (it tasted like fruit, he had discovered) in protest. "Not - not fair!" he objected, "You're trying to incra - incrimininy - get me in trouble! Besides," he added, hand sliding down Sheik's back to somewhere that was... not his back, "I like who I'm already doing. Dating. I mean dating."

Across from them, Zelda let out a faint shriek - Link wasn't entirely sure whether it was due to his words, the fact that Link had essentially just groped someone she saw as a brother in front of her, or the question itself. "You've gotta answer!" she still managed to say, pointing her (thankfully empty) glass at Link, "That's the rules!"

Link sulked for a moment. "Uh - I guess I'd date you, Zel," he frowned in heavy contemplation, "'Cause we already hang out a lot. And Ilia's like my _sister_ , so I wouldn't ditch her, I'd... drop her home! That starts with D!"

Sheik chuckled a little at the obvious pride on Link's face, lounging back against the couch cushions. "So you'd do Malon?"

Slumping down a little at the realisation of what his process of elimination had resulted in, Link took another drink from his bottle. "But she's a _girl_. And my friend. And I gotta boyfriend. He's sexy." The grin he gave Sheik may have been alluring, had he been less intoxicated.

Letting out a faint laugh, Sheik reached out to pluck the bottle from Link's hand, who whined but otherwise let him take it. Besides, if his new favourite drink was taken, that simply meant he could hold on to something else, didn't it? And there was Sheik, sitting next to him...

Doing his valiant best to ignore the lush draped over him, Sheik turned back to Zelda. "Okay - Purlo, that minion who keeps looking at himself in the mirror, or Kafei?"

Zelda wrinkled her nose, tossing the cushion nearest to her at him. "Ditch _all_ of them, then go date a book," she said promptly, causing both boys to laugh (well - Link's was more like a giggle at this point. Alcohol did interesting things to his dignity).

"You could date Shad," Link suggested blearily, head pillowed firmly on Sheik's shoulder. "He talks like a book. And it's history, too!"

"Ashei might eat me," she pointed out, and Link blanched a little. It was true - the student teacher's girlfriend was kind of terrifying, and he had had her as a fencing teacher for several years now. "I like real history books, anyway." With a sigh, she dropped herself back in the cushions. "I want to be a historian. Wouldn't it be so _fun_ , being around all those historical items?"

Link imagined Zelda surrounded by dusty old things, and promptly sneezed sympathetically. "Nope. Who'd want to be around old things if you can be outside with the horses?" he said dreamily, shifting so his head was in Sheik's lap now instead. "Fresh air and greenery and animals... I hope I get in."

Now, though, he just sounded worried. Vet studies was... not the easiest course to get in to, although he _had_ been studying for almost every free moment for the past year. (Almost. Sometimes, distractions had simply grown too much, whether they had been sunny days, other commitments, or Sheik.)

The Sheikah in question petted Link again, letting out a hum. "It should be fine. You tried really... really hard."

"Easy for you to say," Link grumbled, rolling over so he could face outwards. "You're like the best harpist in Hyrule and Zelda's a super genius. You guys will get to do whatever you want, no problem."

Zelda pulled a face at that, although he wasn't totally clear on why. "You'll work something out," she told him reassuringly, but he did take note of the fact that she hadn't said he would get in to his chosen course. "Link, it's your turn to ask Sheik. He's asked some really tricky ones!"

"Yeah, he has," Link said thoughtfully, his grin returning somewhat. "Okay - Ruto, Rauru, or Dragmire?"

" _Link_!"

 

The day they returned to the city, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and Link could not help feel it was an ill omen as they boarded the train again. The fog had hung over the lake like a lid, and even away from the water, heavy clouds still made the place feel claustrophobic. Consequentially, he was feeling rather subdued as they pulled away from the lake.

Glancing back once, he saw the waters grey, and let out a sigh as he turned back to his friends.

There were still two weeks left until the beginning of university, and there would be a great deal to do in that time. There was still a place to rent to be found - it had just been a little too early to locate one prior to their trip to the lake, but now cheap accommodation was opening up in droves in preparation for the incoming students.

They had already decided that they'd be living together, no matter what it required. They'd need jobs to pay the rent, wouldn't they? And not just for the rent - textbooks didn't come cheap, they still needed to eat, and there was the minor issue of tuition...

But they'd be together.

With only a short time until they'd had out again, Link was to stay with Zelda and Sheik once again, and the three boarded the taxi together with instructions to go straight for the Prime Minister's residence. Link had dozed through most of the trip back, feeling suddenly small in the city, missing the lake and the fields and the forest already. Packing, this time, was far more subdued.

"Ah, you're back," Impa proclaimed, giving her nephew, her charge, and Link a quick once-over. "I hope you enjoyed your trip."

"It was nice," Zelda returned with a smile, running a hand through her hair. "Did we miss anything?"

Impa shook her head, turning back to her papers. "Nothing of importance. Your mail is in the kitchen, next to the fruit bowl." And suddenly she looked up, glancing between the three of them. "For all of you."

Link felt the bottom of his stomach drop out at her words.

The letters that would tell them their futures had arrived.


	3. Chapter 2

By silent agreement, they hadn't opened the letters yet.

Instead, they had gathered in Zelda's room, in a rough circle on the floor (although, Zelda decided, it really was more of a triangle than a circle with only three people, and... that probably wasn't the appropriate time for such a tangent), the letters in their hands. She glanced across at the boys uneasily - they were in close contact, knees touching, Link gripping his letter for dear life.

"Well," she started carefully, cautiously. "Should we take turns, or just... open them all at once?"

Sheik glanced up at her, expression carefully neutral. He had only put the one preference in, she recalled suddenly, if he hadn't got into the music program, he wouldn't be going to university. The fact that he held a letter of identical size and thickness to the others now...

Well, that indicated that he probably had got his wish.

"Let's get this over and done with," Link croaked, paler than usual.

Zelda nodded, slipping one finger beneath the flap of the envelope. "Okay, on three," she said with a calmness she really wasn't feeling. "One... two..." She drew in a breath. "Three."

For one absurd moment, Zelda struggled with the paper. Why wasn't it opening? Was the glue too strong? Had they sent her a trick envelope just to tease her?! No, wait, Sheik had got his letter out already, and Link was ripping his envelope open with ease, if not grace...

She let her breath out slowly, and carefully opened the envelope.

 _Dear Ms Nohansen,_ it started, _We are pleased to offer you a place in the Mudora School of Law at the University of Kakariko..._

Law school. Zelda lowered the letter, expression frozen. She had got into law school.

Her first listed preference. The hardest program she had applied for. The one her father had urged her to choose, claiming she was simply brilliant enough to do so...

The part of her that had hoped she hadn't got her first preference, that it'd default to studying history, her second listed one, tightened her grip on the paper.

She had got into law school.

Sheik let out a soft little laugh, setting his letter at his feet and spreading the paper out. Zelda glanced over instinctively and smiled - Sheik had got his first (and only) choice of the Bachelor of Fine Arts at Kakariko as well, where he would enrol in their world-class music program. "Link, Zel? How did you go?" he asked, a smile tugging the corners of his lips.

Silently, Zelda passed him her letter, and the smile froze. He had known exactly what she had hoped for - not quite having the marks to get into her alleged first choice, having to 'settle' for ancient history instead.

Instead, she had been a little too clever for her own good, and the result... well, the result was there on the paper for anyone to see.

She had got into law school.

Link was the only one who hadn't revealed his program yet, hands white-knuckled on the paper. Sensing her and Sheik's scrutiny, he folded it with a suddenness that took them both by surprise, mouth fixed in a thin line. "So you guys both got in to Kakariko, right?" he confirmed, smiling tightly. "Me too. So I guess that's settled, huh? Should we start looking for a place?"

Sheik nodded slowly, reaching up to drop a hand lightly on Link's shoulder. "It looks like it," he confirmed, voice soft. "What course did you get?"

For a moment, Link looked like he was torn between answering and setting fire to his letter. Finally, he shook his head, forced out the word, "Science," between gritted teeth, and got to his feet. "I'm hungry. Let's go get dinner."

He exited the room, trying and failing to look nonchalant, and Zelda let out a quiet groan. "Oh no..."

With a sigh, Sheik nodded again. "He had been worried about that - not getting into vet studies, getting straight biology instead. It's been keeping him up at night," he confided gently, and Zelda winced. "Especially since more in-depth zoology doesn't start until second year, _and_ there's compulsory chemistry - there's a lot of maths in that. I worry he'll be overwhelmed."

Given that Link (and Sheik, in fairness) had dropped out of maths classes as soon as they were able to, it was going to be a fair challenge, indeed.

"And neither of us will be much help," she added softly. "We'll be in completely different faculties - I won't be able to tutor him this time."

"We can find him one," Sheik decided, and Zelda nodded in agreement. He quirked a quick smile, though, and pulled her into a sudden hug. "I know it wasn't your real first choice," he murmured into her hair, "But you're smart. You'll do well in it - maybe you can do something like historical preservation law."

Zelda chuckled a little, squeezing back. "Specialisations don't come until the third or fourth year," she reminded him gently, then shrugged. "I suppose that's enough time to adapt."

He nodded, finally letting her go. "I bet Link's hungry. We better not keep him waiting," he reminded her softly, and started for the door himself. "We can worry about this later."

That, Zelda thought as she closed the door behind her, was probably a given.

 

Dinner that night had been a sombre affair. Zelda could see that Sheik was visibly reigning in his excitement at getting exactly the course that he wanted, and although a part of her remained grateful for the consideration, a smaller, pettier part resented it. Why couldn't she have just got the course she wanted? Why couldn't they have told her that she had 'only' got history instead of law?

Because, she harshly reminded herself as she dug into the pasta, picking around bits of fish (honestly, did people really not consider fish to be animals these days? What part of eating an animal was vegetarian?), she hadn't been brave enough to list history as her true first preference. Because the university administrators couldn't read minds. Because, honestly, she really should have just asked to do history from the outset...

If she was feeling disappointed, though, she knew Link, seated next to her, had to be feeling worse. He _had_ tried to get his first choice, and he hadn't been good enough. Zelda knew from glancing at the guidebook all prospective students received that vet studies was fiendishly difficult, requiring mathematics and all three branches of high school science and near-perfect marks for everything.

Quietly, she wished she and Sheik could have persuaded him against applying for vet studies. It would have caused far less heartbreak - there had to be other ways to work with animals!

She glanced up at him, morosely poking at his pasta with his fork, the bowl still mostly full. "Not hungry?" she murmured, and he started violently.

"Guess not," he muttered, finally setting down the fork. "We had a big lunch before we left the lake, though."

Not that big, she wanted to say skeptically, but wisely let it go. "For what it's worth," she said softly, leaning close so only he could hear, "I didn't get what I wanted either. We will just have to make the best of things, and -"

He let out a hollow laugh, pulling away and stabbing an olive with a fair measure of violence. "Just because you didn't put the right one in. Not because you're too dumb."

Zelda... would not have phrased it like that, but she sighed and drew away nonetheless. Unfortunately, he had somewhat of point - she _could_ have got exactly what she wanted if she had been a little more courageous.

Maybe that was why she had been chosen as the Wise Princess and Link as the Courageous Hero. More than a year go, the Summer Court seemed very far away now.

"I'm sorry," she sad softly, and returned to her dinner.

 

Link's slump, thankfully, hadn't lasted. With the three stuck indoors for the entirety of the next day by pouring rain, Zelda had set them tasks - she would begin looking for rental properties, Link was assigned to search through job listings for Kakariko City, especially the popular district around the university itself, and Sheik was to outline exactly what steps they would have to take in order to enrol.

Stationing themselves in the study (so Link could use the computer while she and Sheik used their laptops), Zelda opened up the rental listings and dove in, grinning at the sheer amount of listings. This would be easy.

Ten minutes in, a frown was slowly growing on her face as she clicked through the listings. That one was in a horribly seedy area directly next to the bus depot, that one only had one bedroom, that one looked like it was about to fall apart...

Oh, that one looked likely. She opened up the listing, took one look at the photograph of the bathroom, and closed it again with haste that bordered on the indecent.

Right - definitely not that one. Why did people take photos of such disgusting bathrooms, anyway?

Ah, there was one - beautiful, with hardwood floors and smooth stone flagging carved from local rock with freshly-painted walls, two (supposedly, she was beginning to mistrust the word) spacious bedrooms, a bathroom that was actually clean, a ten-minute walk to the university, stores around the corner, in their price range...

And it had been leased the day before. Zelda let out a groan of frustration.

"How are you two going?" she asked in an attempt at distraction, and Link turned to give her a quick smile.

"I found a few," he answered, waving the notepad he had been jotting down notes at. "There's a coffee shop right next to the uni, and they want people who know how to make and talk about coffee -"

Sheik, whose blood was made of a significant portion of caffeine, perked up at that. Link gave him a fond grin.

"And Zelda, there's a whole lot of tutor positions at the high school. They've got history, government, and languages listed, as well as a bunch of other stuff."

Letting out a thoughtful sound, Zelda wandered over, peering at the information. "That'd probably be enough," she murmured, glancing up at Link. "What about you?"

He shrugged a little, sitting back in his chair. "I'll find something," he told them decisively, then paused, a smile crossing his face. "Actually, I may call Malon..."

Malon? Sheik and Zelda swapped perplexed glances as Link hurried out of the room, searching for his phone. Sheik let out a shrug, turning back to his laptop. "He's resourceful," he pointed out mildly, and Zelda chuckled.

"He is. I just hope he finds something..."

The rest of her sentence went unsaid. If Link could find a fulfilling job, it would possibly be helpful - something he could focus on other than school that he was skilled in.

They had their answer shortly - Link bounced back into the room, a grin on his face. "She said yes!"

"To what?" Sheik asked, and Link's smile widened.

"To working on the ranch. Her Dad is happy for me to just work weekends, and Epona already knows and loves me, right?"

Zelda swapped another glance with Sheik. Working on the farm would be good, but... "It's a two-hour bus trip to the ranch," she pointed out gently. "Each way."

He shrugged. "It'll be fine. I'll nap or something. And I still get some weekends off, so we can do something there, right?"

Sheik gestured to his laptop. "From the looks of things, we'll have a few weekdays off as well," he pointed out. "It's not so much like school. It looks like Zelda will have two full days, a half-day on Thursdays, and just one class on Friday. And, nothing on Tuesdays." He gave her a quick smile. "You have a prescribed course."

Even less flexibility, then. Zelda let out a soft sigh, then nodded. "Thanks, Sheik," she murmured, peering at the breakdown of classes. It didn't seem too horrible...

"We'll work around yours, then," Link decided, sitting himself down. "Easy. And we'll stay together."

Together? Zelda liked the sound of that. "Right," she grinned, "Back to real estate!"

Neither she nor Link were doing what they wanted to do. But that, she decided, they could work with.


	4. Chapter 3

"Zelda, we do actually need to fit in the car too, you know."

Zelda huffed at him, reaching up to shove yet another bag into the back of the car. "You realise that this isn't just a camping trip, right?" she pointed out, brushing a few stray hairs out of her sweaty face, "We're going to need supplies! Pots and pans, bed linen, I note that you and Link have _completely_ forgotten how often it rains in Kakariko and don't have any umbrellas..."

"I've never been to Kakariko!" Link piped helpfully up from inside the car, already surrounded by bags and boxes.

Sheik ignored the jibe. "Couldn't we have bought supplies there?" he pointed out, then sidestepped the swat Zelda had aimed at him. "Hey."

"They don't have the supply stores I want up there. And I want my _own_ bedlinen!"

That was fair enough, and Sheik didn't have much room to talk - that was his own pillow that Link was holding for him. "Yeah, but groceries too?"

Zelda glanced at her watch with a sigh. "We won't arrive until five. On a Sunday. A lot of the stores close early, and I'd actually like to eat dinner tonight!"

It still seemed like a waste to Sheik, and they still hadn't bought perishables. Shrugging, he slid into the back seat with Link, reaching for his pillows and allowing Zelda to stack supplies around his legs. "Okay, but if the car is too heavy, you're walking."

Wordlessly, Zelda snatched the pillow off his lap and promptly threw it at his face.

"Children," Link snickered, ducking the same pillow (this time, thrown by Sheik). "Hey!"

"You're the youngest, Link," Zelda told him bemusedly, then shut the trunk with a slam (it closed - barely) and moved around to the front seat.

"But definitely the most mature and dignifff..."

Alright, not even Link could stop himself laughing at that sentence.

Settling in the passenger seat, Zelda accepted her own bags from her father, reaching out the car door to hug him goodbye. "Behave, the three of you," Daltus told them bemusedly, casting a glance at the boys in the back set. They both hung their heads, suitably chastised. "Zelly, call me as soon as you're settled in."

"I will. Thanks, Dad." She gave him a sunny smile, and, finally, the doors closed and they were off.

Sheik let out a quiet sigh, reaching back to stuff the pillow behind him and closing his eyes. Link was content gazing out the window (and either way, with Impa in the driver's seat and a mound of belongings between them, it wasn't as if this was a prime opportunity to cuddle), and Zelda was assaulting Impa with questions on Kakariko - although she had been there a few times, it had always been as a visitor, not as a resident.

Kakariko - what would it be like, living under the shadow of the mountain again? He barely recalled it himself, having only been five when they had moved to Castle City, and life as a preschooler was very different to life as a university student.

He had cousins there, didn't he? And his grandmother, she had moved back there years ago. Impa (and his mother by extension, he supposed) had two first cousins there, and one of them had a daughter roughly his age. Did that make them second cousins? No, wait, maybe Impa's first cousins were his second cousins... third, then? And where did the whole 'removed' thing come in?

A quick clarification from Impa herself, and he had his answer - he'd be able to meet his second cousin (the daughter, roughly his age), and his first cousins once removed (Impa's own first cousins). Ignoring the way Link snorted (then realising with a pang that he didn't have any cousins of his own - his aunt couldn't have children after losing the first one, and his uncle didn't have any), Sheik sat back, satisfied with the answer.

Another Sheikah girl around his age... the Sheikah weren't exactly the most common race in Castle City, but Kakariko was home territory. The population there was substantially larger - still only a small minority in comparison, but much more _there_. He never really had had much to do with the culture.

Maybe he should have done more research, he thought uncomfortably. All he knew about Sheikah culture was a few of the basic prayers he still remembered from childhood, and a few myths here and there. All he had experienced were slurs of, "Red-eye!" and images of the Eye of Truth slashed through on his locker at school.

What if his cousins were traditionalists, and found themselves disapproving at his lack of face covering? He vaguely recalled that his grandmother tended to wear hers in public, even if her own daughters tended to leave them off. Impa and his mother never had been particularly traditional about things, and his father had been positively culture-less.

Like himself, he supposed.

Sheik let out a sigh, forcing his worries out of his mind. He didn't even know if he was going to meet up with these cousins, and he had the minor matter of starting university, settling in and living independently for the first time... well, ever, and applying for a job to worry about it any more.

Its time would come.

 

Kakariko was a welcome sight. Sheik's legs had fallen asleep two hours ago.

Drawing up at the real estate agent's office to sign the contract, pay the bond, and collect the keys, they continued on. Sheik liked the town (well, it was probably just a tiny bit too small to call it a city) immediately - Kakariko was at the foothills of the mountains, and the volcano had carved steep, sheer cliffs from the rock. With the sun low in the sky, the stone glowed red, casting pools of deep shadows here and there.

No wonder the Sheikah had been drawn to this place in their earliest years. Red rocks and shadows...

Trees grew here abundantly, the volcanic soils around them rich and fertile, and the green sat in brilliant juxtaposition with all the red around them. Link was practically glued to his window, blue eyes wide as he took in every detail - it wasn't quite a wilderness, but there was something rather more natural about Castle City.

Oh, he hoped he'd be happy here...

Soon after, they found themselves drawing up at the apartments, and Sheik gazed skyward at it. It was built into one of the cliffs, right at the edge of the town itself, a reasonably easy walk to the university.

It seemed fairly pleasant. Out the front of each floor was a long balcony, linked by fire escapes at both sides. Decent-sized windows allowed for some natural light, although Zelda warned them that it'd be terribly dark in the mornings. The main entrances were inside, accessible through a small foyer and an elevator.

"Apartment four zero eight," Zelda murmured, pointing out their mailbox as they hauled the first load of luggage and belongings to the elevator. "Once we exit, turn left, and it's four doors down."

Sheik nodded, staggering slightly under the weight of not only his own bags, but what felt like a full compliment of cooking equipment. While Zelda fumbled for the key, he shifted, setting the armload down before he could even take in the room.

It wasn't bad. The windows let in light from the setting sun, and even though the furniture provided looked basic, it'd certainly be enough for their needs. 

At least, he hoped so. He hadn't seen the bedrooms, bathroom, or kitchen yet...

By the time they were fully unpacked and Impa had taken her leave, the sun was lower in the sky, and Zelda had been obliged to switch on a light so they could actually see. A quick tour had promptly taken place, combined with some hurried unpacking. Taking up the bulk of the space, the main living and dining area extended from front door to window and balcony door, with the kitchen tucked off to one side. Also nearest to the hall sat the bathroom - clean and working, from the looks of things, even if the tiles probably had been chosen in an era that style hadn't been particularly forgiving to.

Towards what they had designated as the front of the apartment, closest to the windows, was the bedrooms. Almost equal in size, both with full beds, they had chosen theirs with no real trouble, Zelda taking the one just a tiny bit smaller.

(The boys would need the bigger one, she argued, as they would almost certainly make more mess.)

The sun set more fully, leaving the bedrooms plunged in darkness (and causing them to make the discovery that the room Sheik and Link had claimed needed a new bulb). But poor Link's stomach was rumbling, audible even from across the room, and dinner became their next priority.

Tinned vegetables and beans cooked over the stove top, served with a couple of packets of instant noodles and a sachet of sauce that they had picked up from who knew where, made for a satisfying if not particularly gourmet meal. His appetite satiated, Link had dropped himself on the sofa, sighing in satisfaction.

"So, Malon will get here tomorrow before lunch," he recounted, shifting a cushion and making himself uncomfortable. "It'll just be two nights before the dorms open, and she said she'd be fine with the sofa."

"She could share with me," Zelda suggested, nodding to her room. "If she's okay with that. It might be a bit crowded with you two." The last part was said with a grin, getting a laugh from Link and a ducked head from Sheik. True, this would be the first time they'd be _officially_ sharing a bed, Link's frequent sleepovers notwithstanding, and he was fairly certain the real estate agent had assumed that it was Zelda who would be sharing a bed with one of the boys, but...

Retreating to bed that night, already made up with Sheik's blankets, new sheets purchased to fit the size of the bigger mattress, and both of their pillows, Sheik glanced up at Link and his smile softened. "Our bed," he said softly as he stripped off, changing into his bedclothes.

"Our bed," Link grinned, sliding beneath the blankets and holding an arm out invitingly.

Sheik fell asleep that night content.

 

Malon arrived the next morning, her belongings taking up a decent-sized portion of the living room. "The view's nice!" she said cheerfully, glancing around at the room and her expression becoming doubtful, "But it's very... dark, isn't it?"

"It gets good afternoon light," Zelda explained with a smile, holding a cup of coffee out to the redhead. "An apartment built into a cliff isn't quite the same as a nice big ranch house, unfortunately."

"I wasn't criticising," Malon said hastily, giving them apologetic smiles. "I hope you three invite me over even when I'm in the dorms!"

Link gave her a grin back, and Sheik silently approved of the way he had remained cheerful even after learning what Malon was to be enrolling in. "Sure! You're one of the only people we know here, anyway."

"So I get in by default?" she laughed, dropping herself down on the sofa. "Oh hey, this is more comfortable than I thought it'd be."

The rest of the day was given over to exploration and job-seeking. Link, who already had his employment sorted, drifted behind them in fascination, head craning back to gaze at the dormant volcano that Kakariko sat beneath. "Big," he remarked simply when he had first laid eyes on it, and Sheik could catch him stealing glances at it throughout the day.

Maybe they could go up to Goron City for a trip...

Zelda found no problem with the tutor position Link had found for her, and the headmistress of the school flicked through her exam results with a low whistle. Sheik's coffee shop position, unfortunately, had already been filled by the time they had arrived - but there was another in the shop down the road, and when the owner had tasted the pot Sheik had made, she had hired him with decent speed.

And that left the rest of the day to do what they wanted - shopping, exploring, and an early dinner out at a rather nice nearby cafe that Sheik promptly decided was his new favourite.

The next day passed much the same as the first, with, perhaps, a fair bit more unpacking and tidying of the new apartment. That afternoon, Sheik had his first shift as a trainee, and he departed with some reservation - while he certainly was used to making coffee at home, making it and expecting others to pay for it was another challenge entirely.

Still, it wasn't a complete disaster. He had only messed up one order, at least, and returned to the apartment with takeaway for dinner.

Finally, the next day arrived. It'd be the day Malon was to set off for the dorms again, and the day that enrolment could begin for first years - and then it would simply be another handful of days until orientation and the official start of university.

He couldn't deny he was looking forward to it, and the harp had been lovingly polished every night. Link, though, was dreading it, and the two of them had talked about it long into the night before he had successfully managed to distract the Hylian.

"So, big day!" Malon chirped over breakfast - they had stocked up, and now had cereal, toast, preserves, and a range of other things. "Are you guys looking forward to it?"

Sheik nodded once, focused on buttering his toast. "Yeah," Link answered from beside him, "Are you?"

She gave them all a smile, stifling a chuckle. "I am - that, and getting a proper bed and proper room. I mean, thank you for having me, seriously, but still - it's a sofa in a living room. The kitchen pipes make weird sounds sometimes, and the walls are really thin." Her grin growing just faintly mischievous, she added, "And really, Link, I'm surprised you can still sit."

Link promptly choked on his cereal, knocking his orange juice over with his elbow - straight on to her plate. Malon glanced down at her sodden toast in dismay, and Sheik stifled a laugh of his own, Zelda laughing outright.

Even with his boyfriend currently beet red and coughing, justice had most definitely been served.


	5. Chapter 4

Staring out the window in the vague direction of the university, Link wondered if it was poor form to claim sick on the first day of orientation week.

It was probably a bad idea. Orientation week was meant to orientate, and he definitely felt like he needed some of that. Zelda, who had done her research, had explained - he would show up at each class, where they would go over the schedule for the semester. At each practical and tutorial session, they would cover things like lab safety and assignments. In between his scheduled classes, he'd have the run of the university - getting his student ID, buying text books, joining clubs and extracurricular activities.

It was the extracurricular activities he had had his eye on, at least. The university had a riding club, and he had got a lift back to Kakariko with Malon's father the day before after work, bringing Epona with them in the horse trailer.

The other competitors didn't stand a chance.

That, he thought with a sigh, was at least one thing he was actually good at. His schedule, once his classes had been worked out, had not looked promising - he was taking two biology classes (one on human biology, and one, at least, as a general overview - and that was bound to include animals!), the compulsory chemistry class, and, for lack of a better substitution, a basic geology class. At least that one involved a field trip...

It was chemistry he was dreading the most, though. Naturally, fate had a sense of humour - it had decided that an appropriate time for chemistry was eight o'clock on a Monday morning.

He wouldn't even have time to check where everything was.

Next, the first lecture for the basic biology class would follow immediately, in, at least, the same hall. By ten, he'd have a whole two hours free before the first geology class, with an hour's gap between that and what would ostensibly be the first chemistry lab.

Four hours long. What sadist made labs four hours long? At least, being orientation week, it wouldn't run for the entire duration - he would get out before dark.

The riding trials, thankfully, were the next afternoon. With a bit of finagling, he had managed to get Tuesdays off, like Zelda - while Sheik had a couple of morning classes, they both would be able to cheer him on.

Monday, though... Monday would be long. Sheik, the lucky bastard that he was, only had a few of his classes on those days, although his schedule made up for that by packing Wednesdays and Thursdays to the brim. Sheik might not have had four-hour lab classes, but he did have shorter music practise every day sans Friday...

"Ready?" came a voice from behind, and Link jumped badly. Sheik gave him a sympathetic smile, crossing the floor and wrapping his arms around Link's middle. "It's natural to be nervous," he murmured, "Just stay focused and you'll be fine. You have ten to eleven free, right?"

"Ten to twelve," Link corrected absently, and Sheik nodded.

"I know, but my first one is at eleven. I'll meet you outside your hall at ten and we can look at the stalls, if you want?" he offered, letting go of Link's waist to turn to face him properly.

Link nodded with a sigh of resignation. "Okay. What about Zelda?"

Sheik shrugged a little, glancing down at the scribbled notes he had taken on their schedules. "She'll be in class then, it appears. She has a break at two so she can check out the stalls, I think we'll both be in class then."

Quietly, Link bent down to tie his shoelaces. "We'll both finish late, I think," he started uncertainly.

"I'll wait in the library for you."

Link flashed him a truly grateful smile. "Thanks."

Zelda emerged from the bathroom then, hair nearly braided and her most determined face on. "Okay - let's do this!" she proclaimed, slipping her bag over her shoulder.

With a sigh, Link tossed his water bottle, an apple, and a small bag of trail mix into his own bag, shoved his phone in, and picked it up carefully (one of the zippers had broken, and he wasn't overly keen on scattering everything from hair ties to a harmonica across campus). "Let's go," he said dully, and Sheik gave him a quick smile as they started for the door.

The campus was pretty nice, Link had to admit grudgingly as they drew near, the sun still low in the sky. They liked their trees in Kakariko, and he had already picked out a few likely lunch spots by the time they had managed to reach the main quadrangle.

After that, he had had just twenty minutes before class, and spent much of that time trying to find the building (not exactly aided by the fact that, this early on, not even the information booths had been manned yet). Doing one last check for his ring binder, making sure he had paper and pen, he turned back to Sheik and Zelda and smiled uncertainly. "Well..."

"Good luck," Zelda told him gently, pulling him into a hug. Sheik joined in too, tilting his head up to drop a kiss on Link's lips.

"I'll see you in two hours," he promised, and reached out to squeeze his hands. "You'll be fine."

Wishing he believed them, Link shouldered his bag, took a steadying breath, and walked inside.

 

It hadn't been a horrible ordeal. Nor had it been much fun.

His earlier guess had been right - chemistry was definitely going to be his weak spot. He had managed fine in high school, mostly by virtue of having Zelda as a classmate and tutor, but now he would be facing even more advance subjects, and without her to help him at all.

He was probably going to have to make use of that tutor system they had mentioned, he realised with a groan. Otherwise, there was almost no way he was going to keep up.

The biology class had been a little better, if for no other reason than being more interested in the subject matter. Evolution and biodiversity... that had things to do with animals, didn't it? He had to know how all that worked if he was going to take care of them, didn't he? And the labs sounded at least a little bit interesting, even if the idea of writing scientific reports made his blood run cold at the sheer idea of it all.

But he was free now, at least, for two whole glorious hours before his first geology lecture. Where was Sheik? Link peered out through the crowds, silently cursing being on the shorter side of average, when he spotted a familiar blonde head.

He had never been so happy to see him.

"How was it?" Sheik murmured as he reached his side, immediately leading him back in the direction of the main quadrangle. "They've just finished setting up properly. I've already done a quick look at the area - there's a few interesting clubs around. Zelda will like them."

And, with a sudden crash of drums, the orientation week entertainment began.

This was a little fun, Link had to admit grudgingly as they wandered through the stalls. Some he simply ignored - there was definitely no need to join the law society (would Zelda join that one? He wasn't sure) or the international students club. The religious ones got a raised eyebrow (although he did note a Sheikah one with faint interest) and the business studies students all looked like they could buy and sell _him_.

Still, a few looked pretty interesting. He had picked up a flier for a movie club, wondering vaguely if they'd be showing any spy films or if that wasn't art house enough for them, made thoughtful sounds over the biology club (would it help him? He wasn't sure, should he have signed up? What did biology clubs do, anyway?), and read the available information curiously as Sheik signed up for the Musical Society and booked an audition for the university orchestra.

This part of university could be interesting, he decided grudgingly, still scanning for any sign of the sign-up form for the riding club.

Ah - there it was. With a murmured, "I'll be over there," to Sheik, he jogged over, picking up a brochure to read.

"Hey - _move_ it, pipsqueak," a voice nearly growled from behind him, and Link spun around with narrowed eyes even as he realised he had been standing in front of the sign-up form.

Oh - he recognised him, didn't he? They had been at the same school in Castle City, another equestrian student he never had had much need to talk to. And, come to think of it, this wasn't the first place he had seen him even today - he was sure he had seen him in both his earlier classes as well.

Bright red pompadours were hard to forget.

Stepping aside, Link still frowned heartily at him. He wasn't alone, either, followed by a lanky blonde boy even taller than the be-pompadour'd one and a small, chubby dark-haired boy who barely came up to Link's shoulder.

So much for 'pipsqueak'.

"Nice hair," he said flatly, and the redhead nearly scratched through his own name as he spun back around to face him.

"Oh, yeah?" he sneered, "Forget to comb this morning? Stay outta my way, or I'll flatten you."

Link drew himself up to his full height (he came up to the redhead's chest) and glared. "We're in two classes and you just signed up for my club," he told him, eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to avoid them just for you."

"Link?" called a voice from nearby, and Link started - Sheik had made good on his promise and followed him over. "What's going - oh. You again."

The redhead glanced between the two of them, and grinned suddenly. "Right. _Right_. So, kids, where've you hidden the lovely Zelda?"

Utterly confused, Link turned to Sheik for an explanation. "We've met before," the Sheikah muttered. "He thinks he has a chance with Zelda. It's kind of sad, really."

"Hey, shut up, midget!"

The shorter one bristled, just a little.

"Uh huh," Sheik said emotionlessly and turned to Link. There was still a hint of fire in his eyes, wasn't there? "Link, have you signed up yet?"

Link spun back to the sign-up sheet and jotted his name down, making sure that the booth attendant (watching all this with utter bewilderment) saw him do it. "I have now."

And then he was being unceremoniously being dragged away. It was only after they had merged back into the crowd that Sheik let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "I leave you alone for five minutes and already you get into a fight..."

Link gave him an embarrassed sort of smile. "He started it, but..." And he cut himself off, noting the way Sheik's eyebrow rose. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Sheik told him with a quick smile, "We'd better warn Zelda that he's here before he tries to make a move on her, and hopefully he won't get too annoyed at her ignoring him. But if there's an air strike on the apartment, I'm blaming you."

Link stopped short. "An _air strike_?" he asked dubiously, and Sheik raised an eyebrow in return.

"When you were signing up, did you see that he had signed the form as 'Groose Dragmire'?"

Letting out a faint groan, Link hurried to catch up with Sheik. Just his luck that he'd pick a fight with the son of the Minister of Defence...

 

The week continued on, and the classes became a little more in-depth, a little more thorough. By Friday, Link was exhausted, and he found himself grateful that he only had the one class that day. Zelda's was on at roughly the same time, and Sheik met up with the both of them later after his work shift, a whole two and a half days ahead of them before having to pick up on their responsibilities again. (Malon's father Talon, his new employer, hadn't scheduled Link for that weekend, remarking that Link would probably need the rest. He could have hugged the man when he had told him that.)

It was a green space near the apartment that they had found themselves in, shading themselves under a tree. Sheik's head was in Link's lap as he dozed against the tree trunk, one hand carding through Sheik's hair. Zelda was nearby, the warmth of her proximity leaking through the thin fabric of his t-shirt.

It was nice like this. Comforting, even on a hot late-summer day.

"We shouldn't stay too long," Zelda finally sighed, breaking the easy silence. "I have my first bit of homework already."

" _Already_?" Link asked in some despair, then promptly stopped himself when he realised that he, too, had something to work on. (For Monday, no less.) It was, at least, only a short introductory piece - but the fact remained that they still had homework in their first week. With a groan, he let his head fall back against the tree.

"Already," Sheik said with a sigh in the direction of his lap, pushing himself up with a groan. "And I have shifts both tomorrow and Sunday..."

Link let out a little mutter of frustration and thanked Talon again for not scheduling him that particular weekend. "I guess this is our life now, huh?" he said to no one in particular, and once he was sure he wasn't about to kick Sheik in the head, he got to his feet. "Let's go home. I want to rest while we still can..."


	6. Chapter 5

Even if she wasn't studying what she wanted to be studying, Zelda was thriving.

The work was hard enough that she couldn't simply coast through it, forcing her to sit down and work out exactly how to proceed. New details and facts filled her head, and more than once, she had found herself excitedly reading something from her studies out to the utterly disinterested boys, cutting herself off sheepishly when she realised that Link's eyes had glazed over and Sheik had fixed his most politely not listening expression on his face.

In another world, perhaps she would have taken to law like a duck to water. And indeed, it was an exciting challenge, one she was coping well with.

But it was not history, and she found herself glancing longingly at the arts faculty building with longing every day she had to walk past it.

Shifting her heavy bag on her shoulder, she gave it another glance and urged her feet onwards to the next lecture. Therein laid her greatest problem - while she enjoyed law, there was something she would much, much rather be doing.

Well, there was always the club, wasn't there? The stack of fliers in her bag from orientation week had remained where she had shoved them, lacking the time to give them due examination.

But there was still ten minutes before her next lecture. Exhaling, Zelda set her bag down (carefully, it wasn't exactly light) on one of the tables near the lecture theatre, drawing them out from one of the many pockets and fanning them out.

Right - she was going to have to be methodical about this. Letting out a hum, she first found the ones with meetings at fixed times, setting them out chronologically. Here, the film club clashed with the women's collective meetings, and the film club flier promptly found itself deposited in the trash can nearby.

The history ones were staying, obviously. Ancient history was a broad enough topic that there was several splinter clubs, each covering different eras, and she set every one aside. The two modern history ones got a thoughtful hum before she chose one of the two, setting the other aside as a maybe.

The women's collective one was added to the pile of those to keep. Beneath it was the LGBTQ club, and she noted the words 'allies welcome!' with some interest beneath it. That, too, went on the pile. The vegetarian society - well, she hadn't eaten meat since she was twelve years old, and so that was added too.

And that just left a flier that she had grabbed and ran before they could recognise exactly who had picked it up. Zelda took a steadying breath, then flipped the flier that listed the university's progressive political clubs.

Her father was Daltus Nohansen. Prime Minister of Hyrule. Known for being tough on illegal immigration. Champion of business rights over human rights. And a dyed-in-the-wool conservative since Zelda was old enough to know what the word 'conservative' meant.

If he had found out his only daughter was considering this act of rebellion...

The human rights commission, she decided, staring down at the damning little piece of paper. And Hyrule's Greens party - she knew that Link would probably be interested in them too. And that was probably enough rebellion for now, she decided with the faintest hint of queasiness.

If nothing else, class was about to begin. Exhaling, Zelda shoved her choices back into her bag and shouldered it again, ready to face the rigours of law again.

 

By the end of the second week, Zelda was well and truly ensconced in law, walking visibly lop-sided with her bag laden with text books, commandeering the table for hours every evening to study.

And yes, she could hear Link and Sheik snickering about how if she was that bad two weeks in, finals week was going to be a disaster...

Surely she wasn't that bad, was she? It wasn't a bad thing to get a good head start on her reading, to make sure that if she was going to do this, she was going to do it _right_. And if she wore herself out with extracurricular activities...

Well, at least she was indulging herself in something she truly loved.

The boys, at least, seemed reasonably comfortable. Indeed, Sheik seemed truly happy studying music, and he took to practise with no prompting required whatsoever. More than once, she had spotted them on the sofa, Sheik's eyes half-closed as he focused on drawing music from the harp, Link curled up and sleepy against his shoulder. With the Musical Society, he had found other friends, and he had joined a string quartet at the university.

Well. At the very least, Sheik seemed comfortable. Link, however...

Still bent over her homework but watching the boys out of the corner of her eye, Zelda let out a sigh. She had been more pleased than anyone when Link had qualified for the riding club with flying colours, and the obvious joy it gave him was a welcome sight.

Because his classes certainly weren't giving him much joy.

She had found the very first homework assignment for chemistry, screwed into a tight ball and tossed in the garbage can, just after the second week had started. It had been pure curiosity that made her unfurl it - and the red-inked four out of ten that made her wince and throw it away again. While biology may have been a little more tolerable, clearly, chemistry would be an issue.

"Link?" she finally called softly, and he let out a little sound as he raised his head from his position on the sofa. "If you don't have any homework tonight, do you want to take care of dinner?"

He bounced off the sofa, grinning. "It can wait. What do you guys want?"

So he _did_ have homework. Zelda let out a little sigh. "Mm... noodles, maybe. Do you want some help with it later on?"

This time, there was a faint pause. "You're not taking the same classes," he pointed out softly, and headed to the kitchen to start dragging out pots and pans.

So he did want help, she realised with a sigh, but could no longer ask her. And he probably had a point - university-level chemistry was a fair step above high school.

"Have you -" she started, then paused awkwardly. Was it really her place to suggest that one of her best friends get tutoring? What if he took it the wrong way? In the kitchen, Link had paused, glancing back in her direction with a frown. Sheik, at this point, was paying attention.

"Have I what?"

"...Considered getting a tutor. A proper one."

Link was silent for a long moment, then turned back to pulling ingredients out of the pantry. "No thanks. I'm doing fine," he said shortly, and Zelda deflated a little.

It was only two weeks in to the semester. Maybe he would learn to excel at chemistry - maybe the four out of ten had only been a fluke. Link was a big boy. He could take care of himself, couldn't he?

"Okay. But there's no harm in using a tutor," she muttered more to her homework than to Link. He had asked her for help plenty of times, hadn't he? But maybe that had been different - she was one of Link's two best friends, and not someone from outside that had been hired specifically to help.

...Oh. Was this how her own students felt? She had become a paid tutor herself, hadn't she?

"Let's go out," Sheik said suddenly from his position on the sofa, glancing between Zelda and in the direction of the kitchen (the angle prevented him from seeing Link properly). "After dinner. We should go check out Kakariko properly, get a drink and relax."

"I'm getting the green stuff," Link called faintly from the kitchen, sounding a little cheered at the idea.

And it wouldn't be too bad, Zelda reasoned. It wasn't exactly their first Friday night in Kakariko, but the three of them hadn't exactly been social while they had settled in. Now, they could finally relax a little. "I can call Malon, if you want," she suggested, getting nods from both boys.

That, at least, had lightened Link's mood a little. She just wished it hadn't involved the promise of alcohol (or, at least, the promise of socialising and distracting himself, and this wasn't actually any way to get him to actually focus on his homework)...

The bar that Sheik had in mind wasn't far away from the apartment, an easy walk (probably even for rather intoxicated people, too). The cicadas were loud in the summer night, and the district that held all the bars and clubs and restaurants was lit up by strings of coloured lanterns. Zelda gazed up at them for a moment, smiling at the sight, then hurried to catch up with the boys.

Malon was already waiting for them, swinging her bare legs as she sat perched on a low barrier near the bar's entrance. "What took you?" she chirped, hopping down and smoothing her dress out. "I am definitely ready for a drink, I didn't expect it to be this much _work_... How could you ever deal with law, Zelda?"

"With lots of organisers," Zelda deadpanned before smiling. "It isn't too bad. You just have to be methodical about it... and probably not go out too often."

Once a week. Once a week, tops, and that was it. The four of them headed inside, finding a booth and settling down, and Link took his leave to get the drinks.

Immediately, Zelda let out a faint groan. "Sheik, please convince him to get a tutor," she pleaded, then immediately turned to Malon. "And Malon, _please_ don't say anything about vet studies to him!"

Malon winced a little. "He's still upset, huh?" she asked softly, and Zelda let out a discontent little sound.

"I don't know... I think he's struggling... but I think he would have struggled in vet studies as well," she said with a sigh. Even if he had got his first choice, wouldn't he still find himself with the same problem?

"Yeah," Malon winced, "We have a lot of the same subjects this year. We're not in any of the same labs, though, or I could try to help him through it..."

Zelda nodded understandingly. If they had shared a lab, then perhaps Malon could help him - and then the thought occurred to her that the answer to their problem was right before their eyes. "Could you maybe -"

"Maybe what?" Link asked curiously from behind, a tray of drinks in his hands. Zelda started violently, then spun around to give him a reassuring smile.

"Nothing of importance," she said airily, and immediately reached for her drink, sipping at it. Malon, perhaps, could tutor him - she was a friend, and she shared a class. Wouldn't that be an ideal situation? She could help him without him ever realising!

Giving her a curious glance over his own drink, Sheik raised an eyebrow, and Zelda tilted her head very slightly in Link's direction. She couldn't explain with him sitting right there - later, when she got Malon alone, they could ask her properly then.

Then, all that remained would be approaching the subject with Link. This would have to be done delicately - he had rebuffed her earlier offer, but she hadn't realised at that point that Malon, a friend before being a classmate, might have been an easy way out.

Zelda, despite her missed first choice, was enjoying university just fine. She could only hope that Link would learn to love it, too.


	7. Chapter 6

Sheik had been a nervous bundle of energy all morning. And if his boyfriend's unimpressed expression was any indication, they all knew it.

Finally, Link sighed, launching himself off the sofa to catch Sheik mid-pace. "Calm _down_ , okay? She's not going to bite, seriously!"

"You don't know that," Sheik pointed out, voice a little higher than he would have liked. "Link, I have no idea what these cousins of mine are like. They could be ultra traditional. They could be bigots. What if this girl is homophobic? They could be - I don't know -"

"Secretly cannibals and she's luring us to a public place so she could eat your liver?" Link supplied, and Sheik blinked, successfully derailed. "Look, if she's creepy or mean or something, we'll leave. But you should at least take the risk."

Sighing heavily, Sheik tugged himself out of Link's grip, throwing himself on the sofa again. "I've just never met family I've never seen before," he muttered. Much to his surprise, Link chuckled.

"It's not too bad. Promise."

And that was the point where Sheik remembered that Link had not only met his sister, grandmother, and uncle for the first time only a year and a few months ago, but he hadn't even known they had existed, prior to that. "Alright, you're failing in your good boyfriend duties in telling me when I'm overreacting," Sheik told him with a sheepish smile.

Link only laughed, joining him on the sofa and pulling him closer for a hug. "You'll have to give me a spanking for it later," he told him, and his voice was innocence itself.

From the direction of the table, there was a sudden cough, a wet-sounding thunk, and a dismayed, "My homework..."

Shooting Link a glare (tempered by the fact that he could _feel_ himself blushing), Sheik jumped to his feet to fetch Zelda some paper towels, giving her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Is it ruined?"

"These pages probably are," Zelda sighed, dabbing futilely at the coffee that had already soaked through. "It's okay, they were only a print-out. I'll grab the PDF later."

Link had joined them by now, expression a picture of contrition. "Sorry, Zelda," he told her sheepishly, taking a few more paper towels and using it to soak up the coffee threatening to start dripping off the table. "Uh, I promise Sheik doesn't actually spank me..."

Zelda let out a groan that was at least partially a laugh. "Link. Not another word about your sex life, okay?"

And if her words weren't enough, the hard stare Sheik had levelled at him hopefully would be...

"Well," Zelda continued, lifting her laptop well away from the spilt coffee, "It's probably time to get ready anyway. What time are we due there?"

"Half past three," Sheik reminded her - he had had the time, date, and place written down for the better part of a week. "Any later, and she said the Friday afternoon drunks show up."

With a little mutter to show exactly how highly she thought of _that_ , Zelda unplugged the dormant laptop and shoved it back in her bag, extracting her phone, wallet, keyring, pocket knife, two pens, a comb, a pocket mirror, a packet of tissues, and an umbrella. Sheik stared a little as she deposited them in a smaller bag, setting it by the door.

"How much do you carry, anyway?" he asked faintly, and Zelda gave him a grin back, not answering.

Not that Sheik had much room to talk, really. Zelda wasn't the one who carried a portable coffee cup around everywhere.

It didn't take long for them to get themselves in some semblance of organisation, Link even managing to take a comb to his hair. Already, he had solemnly promised to be on his best behaviour for meeting Sheik's cousin, and Sheik knew him well enough to know that he'd stick to it.

_Please be decent,_ Sheik silently pleaded, and the three departed the building.

The pub his cousin had agreed to meet at wasn't far from the apartment, in the same district as both the bar they usually went to and the coffee shop Sheik worked at. In the afternoons, it was a nice, quiet little place, although later it would fill up with businessmen celebrating the beginning of the weekend. Sheik checked each street number painstakingly, unwilling to miss it and leave her waiting.

There it was. Not too sketchy-looking, to Sheik's relief (Link's comment about liver-eating cannibals masquerading as family had popped into his head for reasons unknown), and not too crowded or empty - a few others were already there, including a few small groups.

That indicated that there'd be people around to disappear in to if things got strange, didn't it? Anxiously, Sheik scanned the crowd, searching for a Sheikah. "I'm not sure she's here," he murmured.

When Link's hand descended on Sheik's shoulder and his response was to almost jump out of his skin, it was probably an indication that he was getting a bit paranoid.

"Sheik, right?" came a voice from behind him, young and female, and this time he was grateful for Link's hand. Letting out his breath slowly, Sheik turned.

She looked... well, like a Sheikah girl of about twenty, bangs hanging in her red eyes and her long hair in a braid. There was a faint sheen of sweat on her face and muscled arms, bare in the dark blue tank top she wore. At his examination, she grinned. "Sorry about my appearance. I just came from work."

Forcing a smile on to his face, Sheik held out his hand. "It isn't a problem. These are my friends, Link and Zelda."

Blinking at his hand, she finally took it and gave it a shake, her grip firm. "I'm Shika - yes, it's the female version of Sheik," she added, catching Zelda's sudden interest. "Most people call me Shiki, though. Let's head inside, okay?"

Inside the pub, blissfully cool and dark, they found a table and sat themselves around it, Link jumping up to get them drinks (just water this early in the afternoon, Zelda told him firmly). "So where do you work?" he asked curiously - he definitely hadn't seen her at the university.

"Personal trainer," she said with a quick grin. "Martial arts, kickboxing mostly, with a bit of making people jog in circles around the oval." She paused thoughtfully, then added, "There may be a few other combat techniques in there too. It's good for self-defence, right?"

It seemed to suit her, Sheik decided. Certainly, she looked like she could hold her own in a brawl better than most other people, with well-defined muscles on her arms. Sheik had his own muscles, true, mostly from parkour and gymnastics, but she looked... rather tougher than him.

"Have you ever done gymnastics?" he asked cautiously, and she gave him an odd look.

"Just as a kid. I gave it up years ago."

"Music?"

"Nice to listen to."

Sheik deflated a little, and Link reached across to pat his arm. "Sheik's got gold medals for gymnastics," he told her with a proud grin, "And he got into the toughest music course in Hyrule. _And_ he's going to be in the orchestra one day!"

Shooting him a quick warning look, Sheik let out a little shrug. "The gymnastics is more a hobby, I suppose," he muttered, "I can't see myself making it a career. I'm not _that_ good."

Shiki shrugged, taking a gulp of her water. "You're no slouch if you're getting medals," she pointed out. "It's those good Sheikah genes. We're naturally bendy in interesting ways."

This time, it was Link's turn to nearly choke on a drink.

Zelda pressed a hand to her mouth, stifling laugher at Link's red face (and Sheik's own, he was sure, probably wasn't that much better). Shiki glanced between the three of them, taking in Zelda's giggles and Link's flustered expression, and a grin crossed her face. "Get some interesting visuals?" she asked Link innocently. "I'd be flattered, but..." She stretched, the tank top tight enough to demonstrate that it wasn't just her arms that were toned. "From my dear cousin's blushing, I'd say you had your eye on a different Sheikah. How long have you guys been together?"

Sheik gave her an alarmed glance. How had she guessed? Had they really been _that_ obvious? "We, uh..."

"Two and a half years," Link supplied, reaching for Sheik's hand under the table. "You're not going to get all weird about it, are you?"

Also under the table, Sheik trod on Link's foot. "Link!" he whispered in a hiss, turning back to his cousin. "I'm sorry, uh -"

"You've got some dickhead reactions, right," Shiki guessed, sitting back and looking utterly unbothered. "It's cool. Are you out?"

"At home, yes." Sheik winced a little. "But the family over here doesn't know... including Grannie."

That was going to be an entirely new mess of awkwardness. Sheik hadn't seen his grandmother since he was roughly fourteen, and those were pre-Link days. It was far easier to pretend to not like boys when he didn't have a long-term boyfriend...

Shiki nodded, sipping at her water again. "My lips are sealed," she told them solemnly, and then a smile crossed her face again. "Besides, I couldn't make the cute little lovebirds sad, could I?"

Lovebirds? Sheik gaped a little at her, then sighed, shaking his head. "It's appreciated," he said softly, and that was that - the awkward coming out was over almost before it began.

The afternoon slipped by. They had told Shiki about their lives, both their current ones at the university and the long-passed ones back in Castle City. She had seemed particularly fascinated by the Summer Court, and had requested an impromptu performance from the reigning Wise Princess, Courageous Hero, and Sage of Shadows.

(Link had forgotten all of his lines, of course. Sheik had stumbled on his, and Zelda had only blanked on one of her lines once.)

And his cousin herself seemed to be an interesting type. She, too, had spent her teenage years (and, for that matter, much of her childhood) being raised by family. Unlike Sheik, whose parents had died in the car accident years back, her parents were still alive and well - a mother working as some sort of religious figure in Termina, and a father who was constantly travelling for business. Instead of an aunt, it had been her grandmother who had raised her, the sister of Sheik's own Grannie.

Like Sheik, she had been born in Kakariko. Unlike him, she had stayed, wandering the foothills of the mountain, making friends amongst the Gorons. She had never had any real desire to go to the university that the city was so known for, glibly citing that lecture halls made her claustrophobic, and instead had focused on sports and athletics as soon as she was able to do so. Besides, she pointed out, it wasn't as if she thought it was completely useless - with her best friend halfway through a business degree, the two had made plans to team up one day and form a proper business around Shiki's martial arts.

"Oh, yeah, she's a peach," Shiki had told them enthusiastically, pulling a picture up on her phone - Shiki in athletic, easy to move in blue, her best friend in pink and - were those frills? Both were grinning for the camera, both holding dainty little tea cups with pinkies extended. "And don't let the frilliness fool you, she could take over the world if she wanted..."

With news of Shiki's terrifying best friend to haunt them for the rest of the night, they soon took their leave, Shiki dragging a flustered Sheik into a hug. "Don't be a stranger, huh?" she told him with a smile, "Now that we're friends, I wanna see you and Zelda and your love bug whenever we can!"

("Love bug?" Link whined petulantly in the background.)

"Sure," Sheik chuckled, adding her number to his phone. "I'll see you around, then."

It was nice, he decided as they started off for somewhere for dinner, to have cousins.


	8. Chapter 7

"Dindammit, I thought I got that one right."

"Ha, this was easy!"

"What did you get? ...Oh, nice job!"

"Aww, man, only twelve out of twenty..."

Only twelve, huh? Link glowered at the nine scrawled across the top of his lab sheet and shoved it deep in his bag, not even caring as it caught on the edge of his folder and tore. This was ridiculous - he was sure he'd at least _pass_ the latest exercise!

As the lecturer began to drone on, Link found himself listless, doodling aimlessly, barely taking in the actual explanation for that afternoon's lab. It had already been a very long day, and his only saving grace was that Sheik and Zelda had just as much work on Wednesdays - they would, at least, be able to go home together.

Assuming he survived the next four hours.

They would be working in pairs today, at least, which was some minor bit of relief - if his partner was good enough, he might even manage a pass for the next exercise. Link's lab partner, he found, was a timid-looking boy with dusty-looking hair, a perpetual flush on his cheeks. "F-Fledge," he introduced himself as, stammering just a little.

Well, shyness didn't mean he'd be bad at biology, did he? Link gave him a hopefully reassuring smile. "I'm Link. How did you go with last week's?"

"Thirteen," Fledge admitted shamefacedly, "I know I could have been b-better, I just know it! Well, together, I bet we'll do well, huh?"

Link smiled a little wanly. "Maybe. This isn't my best subject."

But it was. And therein laid the trouble.

At least the activity for the day wasn't too strenuous. It would be microscope work, peering down at enlarged images of plant cells and sketching the major features. Link could copy things decently, and hopefully Fledge would be able to identify all the major parts...

"Um - I think those are chlorophylls. Maybe?" Link stared hard at the screen some time later, reaching up to zoom in even further then cursing softly when his image went out of focus.

"Ch-chloroplasts," Fledge corrected nervously, "Chlorophyll is what's in them."

Link grimaced again, focusing on trying to put the image back in focus. "Well - they sound nearly the same."

This had not been what he had had in mind. Link had wanted to care for animals, and he had assumed that biology would be the second-best way to do that, having missed out on vet studies. He hadn't expected... this, not peering at plant cells, not balancing equations, not listening to lectures on how the carbon cycle went on and on and on...

"Hey, pipsqueaks, you got it backwards."

Link started, the pen jolting in his hand and drawing a slash across his painstakingly detailed cell picture. But the voice was far too familiar, and he set his mouth in a determined like before turning, gaze flickering up to the bright red pompadour and back.

"What do you want, Groose," he said flatly, fighting irritation off. Groose, much to Link's dismay, had taken to pestering Link in both this biology class and his chemistry one, and had apparently decided that Link's drawing skills were somewhat lacking.

"Nothing, nothing," he said airily, turning to Fledge. "But I hope you like the scent of loser. This one -" he jerked a thumb at Link - "Didn't even pass the last class."

Link was going to have stern words with whoever decided it'd be a good idea to put all the returned work in a pile for people to sift through. He was going to have very stern words indeed.

Turning back to his drawing, he set about drawing the cell again, giving the last one up as a bad job. "At least I don't scare off little old ladies and small children with my hair."

Groose laughed from behind him, reaching out to tug on Link's ponytail and earning a yelp from the blonde. "Hey, my pomp is the slickest in Kakariko. At least I don't have some girly little ponytail -"

"Is there a problem?" came a smooth voice from behind, and Link abruptly found his hair released. There was a muttered excuse that Link couldn't quite make out, and finally, he chanced a glance over his shoulder - the lecturer who was supervising this class, Professor Owlan, was watching them in mild curiosity.

"Sorry, sir," Link muttered, staring so hard at the drawing he was surprised he hadn't burnt a hole in it. "Everything's fine."

The professor made a dubious-sounding noise in his throat, then nodded. "If you insist," he told Link calmly and drifted away, long silver hair gleaming under the laboratory lights.

And Groose had called _his_ hair girly. He wouldn't have dared to try that on a teacher...

"L-Link?" Fledge almost whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "We should keep working..."

Link nodded absently and turned back to the picture with a long sigh. Just three more hours to go...

 

The next afternoon was riding, and Link couldn't have been more grateful. Riding was something he loved, something he was good at, something he didn't have to struggle and struggle for only to get the most mediocre of results... Letting out his tensions along with his breath as he approached the stables, he could feel himself beginning to approach 'relaxed' again.

Well, the minor issue of Groose and his two cronies also being in the riding team notwithstanding.

Still, it was solo trail riding today, using the forested area where Kakariko began to edge into the Zorai region. Link prepared Epona and adjusted the saddle until she was comfortable, swinging himself up and reaching down to pet her neck. She nickered gently, shifting from foot to foot, eager to be off.

The activity was a pleasantly tricky one. Hidden in the forest were different-coloured flags, each indicating a distance and a difficulty. The coveted prize was the blue flag, of which there was only one. Green flags rated highly, yellow flags were the mark of a decent rider, and red flags - well, they were a dime a dozen.

Link intended to be the first to the blue one.

As soon as the whistle went, Link was off, Epona moving swiftly beneath him. He had been the first to reach the border of the forest, much to his pleasure - it was a riding forest, with trees spaced wide apart and branches high, and he found that he was enjoying it as a place to relax, as well. Grabbing a red flag from the tree, Link grinned, veering for a flash of yellow he could make out in the distance.

But more than the competition, he was simply enjoying being out there in the fresh air, greenery all around him, Epona moving smoothly beneath him. She, too, was wild - she enjoyed the wind in her hair (well, mane) as much as he did, the feeling of freedom as the ground was swallowed up beneath her hooves.

Even if they didn't manage to catch the flag, simply being out there was enough for him. This was freedom - why couldn't he simply be paid to ride Epona through the forests, not a care in the world? Why couldn't he do something that made him so happy like this? Homework was far from the centre of his thoughts right now. Who needed it, when he had the sun and the wind and the forest around him?

There - a yellow flag. He snagged it easily.

Why wasn't there a way he could do this? He had longed to go to university with his best friends, with his boyfriend, not for academics but to be with them. University itself - it left a sour taste in Link's mouth. But music was Sheik's dream, and Zelda had been fantasising about further education for as long as he had known her... Could he really destroy that just based on his own terrible grades?

Reaching up to grab another yellow one, he caught sight of a glimpse of green that wasn't quite the same shade as the leaves. He spurred Epona on, expression distant.

He was being selfish, he decided eventually. This was Sheik and Zelda's dream - it was just him that didn't fit with the equation. Zelda seemed to take his failures personally - why else would she have suggested tutoring? And he knew he couldn't let her down.

No, he'd manage. He'd cope - somehow. And if he didn't, if, for reasons that he could all too easily picture, he found university too hard...

Well, maybe they had a Bachelor of Riding.

A green flag - he reached up to snag it as he rode by, just missing it. Cringing, he wheeled Epona around, rising up in the stirrups to grab it properly, then turned back and urged her onwards.

If he had the green one, the blue one had to be close. Link slowed Epona to a canter - a gallop probably would get them there faster, but it wouldn't be any use if he couldn't _see_ the blue flag.

Maybe he could be a riding instructor, he decided with some desperation. But didn't the instructor have a degree already? Would he accept an apprentice? Would he accept an apprentice, more pressingly, who seemed to be a singular failure in every class he attempted?

There had to be some option he could take to stay at the university! A simpler degree, maybe? Cutting down on his classes? But no, it was past the date where he could change or drop classes - doing so now would show those classes as a big fat failure in his records. Like it or not, he was locked in to all four classes for the semester.

He'd just have to find a way to succeed in them, then. Maybe he would get a tutor, but on the sly - never let Sheik and Zelda know that he was struggling, never tell them that he was hating nearly every single minute of university.

And that was when he simultaneously spotted both the blue flag hanging from a huge old Deku tree, and a bright red pompadour and a black horse heading straight for it.

"Go!" he told Epona firmly, and she burst into her fastest gallop. These sprints were temporary at best, she couldn't maintain them for that long - but maybe it would be just long enough.

Groose had spotted them by now, and he urged his own black horse onwards as well.

Just a little further, just a little further... Link ducked a low branch, then carefully stood in the stirrups, ignoring the fact that a fall from this speed would probably end up with a broken neck. The blue flag was getting closer and closer, but so was Groose, drawing level with him, the redhead grinning widely at him as they drew nearer...

"Come on!" he whispered to Epona, and with one last burst of speed, she brought Link close enough to the Deku tree that he could close his fingers around the flag.

Groose's fingernails scrabbled at the back of his hand and fell back as he turned Epona in a hard left, resisting the urge to yelp in pain as he dropped back into the saddle. Oh, his tail bone would be feeling it later, but he had a blue flag and a green flag, two yellow and a fair few red, and Groose was yelling in indignation behind him. Link's grin was feral as he hurried back to the campus and the riding centre, snagging yellow and red flags from trees in the process.

This was something he could do. This was something he was _good_ at, and no one, especially not bully sons of Defence ministers with really stupid pompadours, was going to take that away from him.


	9. Chapter 8

It had started out perfectly normally.

A mild headache and a slightly scratchy throat - well, they were officially in to autumn, and the colder weather had had to produce _some_ sort of side effect. The headache, Zelda reasoned, could have been from late nights and working hard, perhaps the sore throat was from gulping down hot cups of coffee while in a rush to get ready in the morning.

A few days later, and the sore throat had turned into coughing and then sneezing (and then more coughing - the sneezing wasn't exactly helping her throat), the headache had turned into a full-bodied ache and a fever, and the apparent flu epidemic going around the university had claimed another victim or three.

Curled up pathetically in the armchair, Zelda lifted her head blearily, wincing a little as the movement sent another throb through her aching head. "I'm cold," she sniffled to no one in particular, and from the sofa, Sheik tossed a spare blanket in her general direction.

All in all, she would have rather been on her bed. But poor Link, the least affected of the three of them, was playing nurse maid, and he had not enjoyed running between two different bedrooms when he could check on them both in the living room. And that was how she had found herself bundled up in the armchair, hugging a pillow to her midsection and a box of tissues within arm's reach, Sheik practically draped over the sofa nearby.

His charges temporarily satisfied, Link dropped himself down on the sofa as well, exhaustion practically radiating off him. Almost immediately, Sheik had pulled him closer, and Link's eyes had drifted shut as he clung to his boyfriend. "Are you okay?" Sheik asked him, voice scratchy.

Link murmured something in the affirmative, but Zelda was honestly of the opinion that he looked far too tired to be answering much coherently. Her suspicions were proved correct when he yawned widely, eyes blinking open in some vague surprise.

"I'll live," he said with a crooked smile, pulling himself away from Sheik. "Ew, you're all sweaty."

"I have a fever," Sheik pointed out, sounding far too tired to argue much. "I suspect you do, too."

"Please stop talking," Zelda told them both as firmly as she could (much to her dismay, her voice had the approximate firmness of tissue paper) and dragged the pillow over her head.

Her head really was hurting. Would it really be that bad if Link had to go between just two rooms?

But the boys had fallen silent, at least, and she peered out from behind the pillow to give them a tentative and grateful smile. Link smiled back, then yawned again, head dropping to Sheik's shoulder (despite the sweatiness, she could only presume). "I'm gonna take a nap," he mumbled, and was asleep almost before he finished talking.

Zelda turned her faint smile on Sheik, and he shrugged with the shoulder that wasn't otherwise occupied. "He's been doing a lot," she whispered. He nodded, raising one hand to card through Link's hair affectionately.

"He needs rest." Zelda bit her lip even as she nodded in agreement - she _may_ have been the one to start things off by hoarsely asking Link to get her a glass of water. But he had agreed, and he hadn't been feeling quite as bad then, and she had assumed that he had continued to be not quite as affected as them...

Okay, they had made a mistake. Zelda sighed softly, glancing at the sleeping Link. "When he wakes up," she whispered back, "We'll move into our own rooms. He needs rest too, not to wear himself out more helping us..."

Sheik nodded blearily, careful not to dislodge the burden currently resting on his shoulder. There was affection in his expression, tempered by a hint of worry, and Zelda found herself smiling a little at the warmth in his eyes when he looked at Link.

Zelda had known Sheik since they had been ten years old. She recalled him at that age - a far too solemn little boy, her father's main advisor resting a hand on his shoulder as she explained the death of her sister and her husband.

Sheik had become family then, part of the Treasurer's (at the time) household. When he had been elected as Prime Minister the following year, they had moved in with them, too - an unconventional but generally accepted arrangement. Impa could serve as a maternal figure for both 'poor motherless Zelda' (Zelda had been just four when her mother had passed away, and the loss didn't particularly sting - indeed, she barely remembered her) and her 'poor orphaned nephew', and Daltus Nohansen gained an image of a family man, someone who was truly charitable.

Having just gained new members of the family, the finer details of politics had flown over Zelda's head. Now, at least, she understood - but far too late, Impa had become a mother and Sheik was her brother, now and forever.

It had been an odd relationship the two had started off with. Sheik had always been so _serious_ \- a formal little boy, mouth fixed in a firm line as Impa introduced him. She had assumed, at that first meeting, that he missed his family.

And then time had progressed on, and while she and Sheik spoke more, played more, spent more time in each other's company and got to know each other, he had remained ever serious, his smiles rare.

It had been a rough few years. Sheik had escaped into music and parkour when they were twelve, an escape from bullying. When he was fourteen, he had found himself forced out of the closet (something Zelda still blamed herself for - if only she had realised that Kafei was not to be trusted!), and the bullying had increased exponentially.

And then, when they were fifteen, Link had arrived at the school.

It was like something in Sheik had been switched on. Around Link, he had started to smile, to lose the cool exterior he pulled around himself like a shroud. On occasion, he would become animated and almost cheerful, talking and laughing more readily. Oh, he was still more serious than many others around them, he certainly hadn't become an extrovert, Link still managed to be the bold, outspoken one.

But around Link, Sheik had found happiness, and even more so when their relationship had become official. By the time they would have reached the end of semester, it would have been three years, and the changes in Sheik in that time brought joy to Zelda as well.

By now, Sheik had finally given up on consciousness as well, his head tilted against Link's own, their hands and shoulders and legs brushing up against each other's.

A sad smile crossed Zelda's face - suddenly, she had felt terribly lonely. Drawing in a breath, she carefully got to her feet, blanket wrapped around her shoulders, collected her phone, and stepped out the back door on to the shared deck, in to the crisp early autumn air.

And then she dialled an international number she knew by heart.

It felt like a very long time before someone picked up. Switching to her best Twili, Zelda softly requested to be put on to someone - and then it was Midna's smooth cadence on the other end of the line. "Hello, this is Midna Kakarauri speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hey," Zelda said with a soft smile, sinking down against the sliding door and wrapping the blanket more tightly around herself, "You can help me with a chat, how about that?"

"Zelda!" There was a distinct grin in Midna's voice, even on the other end of a phone and so many miles away. "Sure, I've got time. Well, I have a briefing in an hour, but I'll tell them it's a matter of state importance." Her voice was airy, and all too easily, Zelda could picture her tossing back her main of bright red hair and settling in her seat.

Zelda let out a soft laugh at the exuberance, already feeling lighter for it. "That sounds good. I've missed you..."

 

Her phone bill was going to be so high, Zelda thought absently as she headed back inside nearly two hours later. But she had needed to hear Midna's voice, had needed someone to be close to... Sheik was her brother and Link was one of her best friends, but they had each other and she was left with no one.

Midna, for the year she had been in Hyrule, had become one of the most important people of her life. Now it had been less than a year since her departure, and she had missed her as if she had known her for her entire life.

Maybe they could go to Twila for Solstice, Zelda thought blearily, then immediately shook her head. It had only been a year since Midna had returned to a land where she was to begin training immediately to learn to rule the small country, and her duties could not be halted for visits from friends. Not when the stability of the entire country was resting on her hands, at any rate.

Maybe in a few years...

With a sigh, she returned to her spot in the armchair, thinking vague thoughts of going back to bed properly. Link and Sheik seemed to be sound asleep and it was doubtful that either of them would be stirring in the near future, and so with a soft, determined sound, she gathered up one of the boxes of tissues, her bottle of water, and her book, and slowly shuffled back to her own room.

There - fresh air. She had left the window open, and now her room felt pleasantly cool against her warm face, far less stifling than the living room where the boys were sleeping.

Strange, given that she had felt freezing cold just a few hours ago, _and_ she had just spent several hours outside to boot...

With a sigh, she burrowed herself in blankets, then decided that was still a bit too warm and kicked them all off. Stripping down to her underwear and a t-shirt, she drew just the sheet over herself again, the tissues beside her and the bottle of water within arm's reach. On the bedside table were cold tablets and throat lozenges, her book was... where was her book? Oh, on the floor, where it had been knocked when she had rearranged the blankets...

There. Even if reaching down had made her head spin, she had everything she needed now. Maybe now she could sleep...

After pulling up another blanket. Fevers truly were frustrating things, leaving her feeling both chilled and feverish, sometimes in the span of just five minutes. For now, she felt somewhat in between, comfortable in just her underwear and a t-shirt and wrapped in a single blanket. A few minutes from now... well, who knew?

Yet sleep was not totally forthcoming. With a sigh, Zelda flipped open her book. Her reading of fiction had... not exactly been stellar in the past few weeks with university eating all her free time, and a part of her mind was urging her to at least stay up to date with her lecture material.

But she was sick, she told that part of her brain stubbornly, and besides, she wasn't sure she currently had the mental capacity to focus on complicated laws. A novel it was, then.

Naturally, if anyone was to ask her if she read trashy historical romances full of swooning women in corsets (the corsets, at least, explained the swooning), she would be forced to deny it most vigorously. Such undignified reading simply wasn't suitable for the daughter of the leader of Hyrule and an aspiring lawyer, and she most certainly wasn't tucking herself in to read up on the trials and tribulations of a young princess and her romantic woes.

(And at any rate, the young princess had found herself in the arms of another princess. The types with dashing princes and brave heroes tended to rely a little too much on the damsel in distress trope, and besides, it was simply too awkward after finding herself playing out a princess with one of her best friends as the hero.)

As she settled down for the afternoon, Zelda let herself relax. She could study later - for now, just this once, she was going to relax.


	10. Chapter 9

The temple sat at the furthest end of Kakariko, and until today, Sheik had never laid eyes on it.

Well, he never had a reason to, did he? His parents weren't exactly traditionalists, and even if they had attended services when they had lived in Kakariko, he had only been five when he had left. If he had ever been in the building before them now, he had no memory of it.

"Ready?" Shiki asked helpfully from behind him. She had deferred to tradition today, it seemed, and wore a scarf that could be pulled up to cover her face. Maybe, in a pinch, he could do the same with his scarf...

"Not really," Sheik admitted, letting out a yelp as Shiki grabbed his arm, hauling him through the small courtyard that lead up to the front steps of the temple.

Well. More correctly, she had dragged him _down_ to the front steps - from the front courtyard, the steps to enter the temple proper slanted down into the earth. With much of the temple built into the mountainside, it gave Sheik the uncomfortable sensation of descending into the netherworld.

The vestibule, at least, was lit up. Candle holders even taller than Sheik (not, of course, that that was hard to achieve, he thought grumpily) sent flickering pools of light over the floor, the mosaics worn smooth over the years. The pattern in it, picked out in white tile, gleamed brightly.

Even Shiki had fallen into a mostly reverential silence, reaching up to position her scarf over her nose and mouth. With a faint frown, Sheik did the same - even if he didn't believe in the Sheikah laws of privacy and only showing one's face to immediate family and loved ones, it didn't mean he couldn't be considerate of other beliefs.

The big doors to the main chamber were closed, and Shiki pressed her ear to the gap in between. "There isn't a service on at the moment," she murmured, and reached up to push one open.

Sheik glanced up curiously at the designs on the door - a huge, stylised version of the Sheikah eye, and what looked like the Triforce, symbol of Hyrule. And then the image split in half as one door slid open, and Sheik followed his cousin inside.

This definitely wasn't the Temple of Time back in Castle City. That temple had been bathed in light from the high windows, polished white masonry and clean lines and angles making it seem airy and majestic. Meant for Hylian religions, which worshipped the light, it was an apt place.

But this place, the temple of the Sheikah... a definite thread of apprehension was making its way down Sheik's spine. Carved out from mountain rock, the main chamber was cavernous in all senses of the word - a huge space, the rough rock giving it the form of a natural cave (save for the ornately carved columns that held the place together).

Eyeing the engraving of a raven on the nearest column, Sheik followed Shiki to the front of the room where the altar sat, a basket of candles at the base. "Hold one of the candles," Shiki whispered, moving close, "And think about whoever you want to send blessings to. Then light it while you're thinking about them, and put it on the altar."

Letting his breath out slowly, Sheik nodded, reaching for one of them. There was a box of matches next to it and he scooped it up, holding it loosely in one hand.

This was what he had come in for, the reason he had asked Shiki to bring him to the temple specifically. His parents might not have been the most religious, but blessings for the departed were still a part of Sheikah rite and ritual, and even he knew of it well.

There were no Sheikah temples in Castle Town. Only Kakariko had one in all of Hyrule, although he knew there were others further abroad. And now that he was beginning to learn more of his own culture... well, this was something he wanted to do.

His parents had been good people. Eyes closed now, breathing even, Sheik brought up their faces in his memory. What would they look like now? It had been eight years since they had died. Would his mother have fine lines around her eyes, like Impa? Would his father be losing his hair? Would they have been proud of the way he played the harp? Would they have supported him in trying to join the symphony orchestra? He knew they had met Zelda a few times via Impa - what would they think of her now, a young woman setting out her place in the world?

What would they think of Link?

Eyes still closed, Sheik bit his lip. What would they think of his boyfriend, and what would they think of the fact that he _had_ a boyfriend in the first place? Would they have accepted that their only son was gay, or would they be hostile or disappointed or quietly disgusted?

...Right, this probably wasn't the best train of thought to have in the temple. Sheik let his breathing steady out and brought back the good memories. They had always been good parents to him. They had always be kind. And Link had a likeability about him that he was absolutely positive would be able to win over the toughest critic. They would embrace him as part of the family.

He longed to be able to see them again.

Eyes opening a fraction, he struck a match, lighting the candle. _Safe travels, Mother and Father,_ he vowed silently, a small smile flickering on his lips.

"Done," he told Shiki quietly, and she gave him a quick smile and a beckoning finger.

Ah - it was to the bookshelf near the doors to the vestibule she led him to, a guest book (he assumed) lying on top. "They let people borrow these whenever they want," she told him lowly, "You just need to sign out for them."

Sheik found himself walking away with two books under his arm, one on Sheikah rites in the modern age (well, modern as of twenty years ago, according to the date on the dust jacket), the other on songs and poems. Music always had been a good way to catch his attention...

"Thanks," he told Shiki with a faint, crooked smile as they emerged. "I didn't get to do that in the city, and..."

She nodded understandingly. "It's fine. Do you want to go meet my Grandpa? I guess he'd be your..." She paused, having to think about it. "Your grandmother's brother-in-law. So I guess he's no real relation at all." The little laugh she let out didn't quite seem to fit a graveyard, but Sheik still found himself agreeing.

As graves for distant relatives he wasn't actually related to went, it wasn't too bad, clean and well-cared-for. There was another space at the side, and he cast it a glance, getting a faint smile from Shiki in return. "That'll be for my grandmother," she explained quietly, and Sheik recalled that she had been raised by her. Had the man whose grave they stood at also raised her?

"Yeah," she confirmed when he finally asked, "For my first seven years, at least. He had heart problems, so it wasn't really a surprise."

All too easily, Sheik could picture a tiny Shiki coming home to find her grandmother waiting for her solemnly. "Do you miss him?" he asked quietly, forcing the image of a pale-faced Impa arriving at his classroom door away.

"I was really young." And then she shrugged a little, looking faintly embarrassed. "I mean, I do a little, but we were never really close. I was Gran's girl."

She didn't ask him about his parents, and quietly, he was grateful for it.

"Let's go out," she said suddenly then, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down the slope towards the street. "Have you ever gone to a Sheikah restaurant? Well," she added thoughtfully, "It's more like a cafe, I guess... with live music... and there's a little library there. They sell some of the books, too. And they serve drinks if you're old enough - or if you have a cool grandmother who says it's okay."

Sheik let out a faint laugh in sheer bemusement, allowing himself to be pulled towards this restaurant / cafe / music venue / library / book store / bar. "So it's a sort of meeting place?" he asked as they made their way along the street.

Shiki nodded. "Most of the Sheikah here have gone at least once. You might meet some more family." She flashed him a grin, then turned again - they were on a busier street now, and it probably was a good idea to focus on the cars and not bodily dragging Sheik along.

"What about people who aren't Sheikah? Can they come too?" Link would enjoy the music, he thought, and Zelda would probably be fascinated by the books...

"The more, the merrier!" she grinned. "It's mostly friends and partners and things, but there's a few regulars who just like the atmosphere, I guess. It's pretty nice."

He nodded, smiling a little. If it was anywhere near the temple, they were only a twenty-minute walk from the apartment - it would probably be worth inviting Link and Zelda to join them some time.

It was, in fact, near the temple, a few streets away from the restaurant and bar district that they had gone to frequently since arriving in Kakariko. Half expecting another cave, Sheik found himself pleasantly surprised by it - although it certainly wasn't light, it was also warm and comfortable-looking, lush fabrics in blue and purple and red and accented in gold and white draped from the ceilings, plush cushions covering the benches and colourful rugs on the floor.

Here and there were coloured lamps, glowing in a myriad of colours. Although it was still mid-afternoon outside, it cast a warm red-gold glow on his face, the scent of incense making him a little light-headed.

No live music at the moment, but Sheik cast a speculative glance at the little stage in the corner. Maybe they accepted more independent performers...

And the afternoon pressed on. Sheik met new family - into their second drink (tea, heavily spiced), Shiki had let out an exclamation and had dragged Sheik over to meet her grandmother (Sheik's great-aunt, if he recalled correctly) and her aunt (first cousin once removed? He thought that was right).

The contrast between the two could not have been more different - her grandmother had been a tiny old woman who barely reached her chest, her silver hair twisted into two buns behind her ears, dressed in the brighter colours that Shiki had mentioned were common to the more mountainous populations. Her daughter, Shiki's aunt, however, was tall and reed-thin, blonde hair pulled back severely and letting just a single beaded braid fall before her left ear. She was tattooed, Sheik noticed with interest, a white tear drop beneath her right eye, clothed mostly in blue with only the occasional pop of yellow or red.

Shiki's aunt was just a little bit imposing, gazing down at him as if he was a rather small bug.

Still, she was family. And so was his great-aunt, and so was Shiki. And for now, that would be enough for him.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: Bullying, homophobic remarks, coarse language.

Two o'clock, and Link slammed his pen down with a sigh of relief.

Three-hour exams, he had discovered, were definitely not his favourite thing, even if he was doing better in biology than in his other subjects. Oh, he was by no means _good_ at it - he had no way to judge how he had just done on the exam, but he was barely - barely - scraping a pass in the labs and quizzes. The fifteen hundred words he had written for his lab report had been carefully read over by Zelda, and didn't seem too horrible - now, it would be up to the examiners to decide how he went.

Still, he was only two exams down, with the others - including his dreaded chemistry - coming later in the week. With a sigh, Link left the hall, dragging his feet on his way to pick up his bag.

Well. There'd be two exams left, but three tests - and one of those tests was approaching rapidly. The riding team, it seemed, had its own traditions, and while his flag win was still fresh in his mind, there was something a little more strenuous still ahead.

Namely, a long cross-country race at the very tail end of autumn, crossing Kakariko's borders into Zorai, taking in long stretches of fields, forested areas, and hills. It would be a test for both horse and rider, and the winners would not be expected back at campus until dark.

With that in mind, Link picked up the pace a little. He still had to get in to his riding gear...

This, at least, was a test he had a good chance of winning. To ensure that everyone stuck to roughly the same course and didn't take shortcuts, each horse would be fitted with an electronic tag. The markers that laid out the course would receive each tag, and their times would be listed at the end of the race.

Epona was fast, and she had stamina. Link had practically memorised the course, and he was almost certain he could pick out the fastest route between each marker (with, unfortunately, the direct route not always being the quickest). This was something he could actually _do_.

And so he soon found himself waiting at the starting line, Epona's reins in his hands and his feet in the stirrups, fitted out in his riding gear. Two horses to his left, Malon gave him a grin and a thumbs up, and he returned it in kind.

Three to his right, ridiculous pompadour squashed down by his helmet, Groose sent him a scowl.

"Right!" the instructor shouted, and Link started a little. "You may start at the gun. The route and order you hit the markers are up to you, but you _must_ hit each marker at least once. First one back, obviously, wins."

A whistle blew, and Epona got into position. Link could practically feel the tension in her body. He held his breath; his heart was pounding already.

And then the gun went off, and Link and Epona were flying forward as if they had been shot out of it themselves.

There'd be no need to slow to grab tags here. His aim was to start fast, aim for not the closest marker, but the second-closest (the first one he'd grab in the way back), then slow as they entered more difficult terrain. On the plains, they would enter a sprint again, slowing as they reached the furthest end of the course.

The hills near Zorai - they would be the trickiest, the most taxing on Epona. He would have to tread carefully out there, and hope the region he had explored earlier was something like the featureless map they had been provided with.

The edge of the forest approached. Link let his breath out steadily - the first marker was there, and he hit it running.

Was he the only one who had come this way instead? Link spared a quick glance around, then grimaced - aside from Malon's own horse a little further away, the only one in sight was a black horse and its red-headed rider...

Groose was not going to take this from him. Not now, not ever. Gritting his teeth, Link took a hard left - it wasn't quite the fastest route to the next marker, but it was direct enough that he could still be there before his nearest competitor.

Besides, with some luck, Groose would be too block-headed to work out the best route.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. Groose was, much to his dismay, a rather good rider. As the distance between himself and Malon began to increase bit by bit, it was rapidly shrinking between himself and Groose.

The second marker was reached by Groose a half-second before Link. He shot a glare to his side, then took another turn.

That, at least, seemed to do the trick. Groose was falling behind a little, and it was Link who was first to the third marker. The different paths were helping him gain a lead, even if it was tenuous and he kept spotting the black horse out of the corner of his eye - sometimes further away, sometimes close enough to worry him.

They reached the plains, and Link shot forward like a cork being popped from a bottle. Beneath the trees, Epona had paced herself.

Now, they could really fly.

Groose's horse, it seemed, had had the same idea. By the time the land started becoming more sloped and varied, they had drawn close. At times, Groose would take the lead, his teeth gritted and hands gripping the reins so hard he was sure he was white-knuckled beneath his gloves. At other times, Link would pull ahead, grimly determined not to let anyone else ruin this for him.

Right - the hills. Link sucked in a breath and made a snap decision - he'd take the second path, longer but flatter, giving them the opportunity to run. Groose chose the more direct one - here and there were rocks, almost boulders, low shrubs, other obstacles. A careful rider would have to go slow through there, the flatter path skirting around the edges.

Epona ran. And Groose's horse ran. And as Groose urged it in to a leap to clear a shrub high enough to hit the horse at mid-thigh, Link saw the loose leaves covering the landing a split-second before the other.

"Fu--"

The horse slid hard then recovered, but it was already too late for his rider. Groose hit the ground hard, leg slamming hard into one of the rocks, and even from the slow path Link could hear his yell of agony.

"Shit," Link whispered, urging Epona (more slowly) to his side. They were practically at the furthest extent of the course, and help would not be coming for quite some time. Even if he took off now and took the most direct route, it would be at least an hour to get back and let anyone know.

And Groose had dazed himself as he had hit the ground, blood visible on his face, leg twisted at a painful-looking angle. It wasn't right to leave someone who had hit his head - they needed someone to look after them.

Link wavered. He could hurry on to get help, and hope that Groose would stay conscious in the interim, he would wait long enough for Malon to arrive and ask _her_ to stay with him...

Or he could stay himself, and ask Malon to fly back and get the help they needed.

" _Shit_ ," Link muttered again, and dismounted.

Groose's horse was nearby, wandering in confused circles. A quick glance revealed that he was fine, and Link caught the reins to lead him over. "Epona, watch him," he instructed, then hurried to kneel beside the fallen rider. "Okay, tell me your name and the date. I want to know if you have a concussion."

The redhead glared. "Why the fuck are you still here? Don't you have a race to beat me at?" he almost spat, bitterness all through his voice.

Okay, probably no concussion. Link let out a sigh, not moving. "How's your leg?" he asked instead.

"How do you fucking think?" There was a tinge of hysteria to Groose's voice, now that Link was listening, and he glanced down automatically.

Oh. Thigh bones weren't actually meant to bend, he was pretty sure.

"I'm not going to leave you here," Link told him with a faint glare, fighting down the urge to scramble back on Epona and start riding again. "Not while you're hurt! Not while it's this cold! When Malon or whoever comes by, I'll tell them to call for help when they get back. I'll stay with you until they arrive."

Groose glared back, although the effect was somewhat diminished with his eyes glazed over in pain. "You're throwing the race," he choked, "You stupid fag..."

This time, Link glared back for real.

The minutes passed awkwardly. Link had retrieved his pocket kit from Epona and found painkillers, nothing intense but hopefully enough to blunt the pain. Groose had promptly refused him, staring at the ground sullenly and muttering things about how Link should just leave now, he didn't want his help, he didn't need him...

Malon was the next person over. Hurriedly, since he could see others approaching, he explained the situation. She nodded and shot off again, and Link watched her go with something resembling regret.

He had done it, then. He wasn't going to win. He probably wasn't going to pass his exams, and now he was going to lose the race too.

And so he returned to the rock that Groose was slumped against, settling down cross-legged a little away from him. "It's done," he said numbly, and hung his head.

Groose, all through his hasty discussion with Malon, had been staring at them. Now, he dropped his gaze, frowning in perplexed thought. "You really weren't bluffing," he started slowly. "I mean, you really stayed behind, huh."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Link muttered.

Groose cast him a speedy look. "You really wanted to win this, huh?"

Link smiled humourlessly. It wasn't a mocking tone Groose had used, but still - the words hurt. "It would have been nice to be good at _something_..."

This time, the stare was a little too long to be comfortable. "What?" Link asked defensively, and Groose shook his head.

"Nothing. But you really suck at chemistry and biology and stuff, huh," he observed. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone get _two_ out of twenty-five before."

He hated worksheets being left in a pile. He hated it.

"I only got, like, four on that one," he continued suddenly, and Link raised his head in sheer surprise. Groose was staring straight ahead, expression rather put-out, and he frowned in disbelief.

Groose had always been teasing him about how bad his work was. But he had barely managed to do better than Link, then - he was struggling too?

Letting out a thoughtful little noise, Link settled back. "I'm not very good at uni," he conceded, knowing immediately that his words were true. It wasn't just the classes he had chosen, it was academia. It simply wasn't his strength the way it was Zelda's.

"I think I'm okay at uni. Just - I suck at science," the redhead confided, rolling the helmet around in his hands. "Did it for stupid reasons, too - one of my friends - well, I guess we're not really friends - he likes it. And I didn't know what to do, so..."

Link quirked a faint smile. "I didn't get in to vet science, so I only really did this for friends as well. I wanted to go to uni so we could get an apartment together and everything..."

Groose snorted, and Link suddenly recalled exactly who he was talking to. "Yeah, bet you love being in the same place as Zelda, huh?" he said with a faint smirk, "Why's she always hanging around with a skinny little prettyboy goodie-two-shoes poor fag like you?"

There was the Groose he knew. Link sighed. "Because we get on really well with each other, maybe?" he suggested dryly. "Because she's a - well - 'goodie-two-shoes' as well? Because I'm dating her brother-figure? Because, I don't know, we're _friends_?"

Letting out an irritated mutter, Groose flicked at a fallen leaf. "Yeah, but..."

Link raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to continue.

This time, the mutter was definitely more ashamed-sounding. "But I'm rich and good-looking and we got almost the same connections and I'm cool. How come she doesn't like _me_?"

"Because you're arrogant and vain and forceful and homophobic and a bully and you actively pick on one of her best friends," Link pointed out, settling back against the rock with a huff. Goddesses, he wished he was back with Sheik right now, not stuck in the freezing cold wilderness with a bully.

"I'm not homophobic."

"You called me 'fag' twice in the last twenty minutes."

"Yeah, well, that's just..." Groose trailed off, scowling. "Never fuckin' mind."

The silence fell uneasily. Once, it was broken by another rider, catching sight of them and giving a call in alarm. Link shouted back that Malon was going for help, and quiet fell again. The next few riders didn't notice them, or else received the same message.

It was exposed out here on the hills. Nearly in to winter and with night falling rapidly, Link was grateful for the hoodie he was wearing under his riding jacket.

"I wanted her to notice me," Groose said at one point. "Thought I'd have to be noticeable to do that."

"She only noticed you as a jerk," Link said in return. "Have you considered being _nice_?"

"Sorry I picked on you in class," Groose muttered at one point.

Link gave him a frown in return. "Why do you do that if you suck at it too?" he asked, genuinely curious. Was it the exposure and the isolation making them spill secrets to each other?

Groose shrugged, resting his head back against the rock. "Don't want people to notice I do. Be bad if a big politician's kid was a stupid failure. Dad really wants me to do well at like... everything."

Link had no answer to that, but he was beginning to see Groose in a new light. Was it just him, or was he... insecure? Did he bully Link over his grades because of the pressure he was under, because he was ashamed of his own failures? Was his arrogance only bluster to cover up insecurities and loneliness?

Groose accepted the painkillers after a little while, reaching over to grab them with a thin groan.

Were those sirens? Yes, Link noted, there were flashing lights making their way up to their position. He hadn't noticed the road nearby, but now there was both an ambulance and a car with a horse wagon approaching...

"They're here," Link told him hurriedly, dragging the pocket flash light he carried out and rising to meet them.

A horse carrier big enough for two. Link smiled ruefully as Epona and Groose's horse were loaded up into it, their riding instructor opening the car door for him. "So what happened?" the instructor asked curiously as Link watched them carry Groose back down on the stretcher and load him into the ambulance.

"We were racing and he got thrown," Link explained, sighing contentedly at the heated car. "Smashed his leg against the rocks. I didn't want to leave him there. Did Malon win?"

He shook his head. "Technically, no. She was the first one back, but she missed two markers." The smile he gave Link was small but impressed. "You were both pretty noble today - oh, hey."

From the ambulance, one of the paramedics was waving for Link to come over. With a nod, he stepped out of the car, shivering a little in the cold.

It was Groose who wanted him, already high on better painkillers than the over-the-counter ones Link carried, his leg strapped in place. "Hey... Link," he slurred, and Link realised it was probably the first time he had actually used his name instead of a slur. "Thanks. And, hey, uh... sorry. 'Bout all that shit."

Link gave him a faint smile back. This wasn't something he had expected, honestly, but it probably wasn't the worst outcome in the world.

"You're welcome," he murmured, jumping down and heading back to the car.

This had definitely been an interesting day...


	12. Chapter 11

Zelda was worried.

Indeed, she had been worried for the past month or two. Link seemed cheery enough - but he was one of her closest friends, and she knew exactly when he wasn't coping particularly well at something. Back in school, he had hidden his frustration at his lack of a natural ability to do school work with smiles and distractions - now, this had almost trebled.

"How are you going with class?" she would ask over breakfast or over homework, and Link would smile, wave a hand, and say that everything was okay, everything was just fine. He was doing well, he told them with a smile that was a little too bright to be accurate; he was enjoying it.

And then he would disappear off to the ranch, or go riding with Epona, or distract himself with video games or exploring, and the uni work would go unfinished.

With a sigh, Zelda turned on her heel and continued her pacing. When would the blasted mail arrive...?

Sheik, she knew, shared her concerns. After all, he was the person Link was closest to, and he had agreed that Link had been acting particularly recalcitrant about getting his work done. It couldn't have been laziness, Sheik told her in an undertone, since Link was not known for sloth (beyond that of which was to be expected of teenage boys). Instead, he was avoiding it - if university was something that hurt him, he was staying well and truly clear of that hurt.

Even after classes and exams had finished, he had still carefully avoided any mention of university.

He was away today, a scheduled shift at the ranch. It probably wasn't the best day for work, given that their results for the first semester would arrive with the mail. Sheik had even accepted a morning shift instead, one he normally avoided if at all possible - grumpy businessmen were very particular about their coffee, it seemed - and the kids she usually tutored had already started their solstice vacation.

Now they just needed Link. And results.

The mail arrived before Link did, Sheik bringing it in with a thoughtful expression. "Should we wait? Or..." He was an anxious as she was to see what results she had got for the semester, and Zelda wavered for a moment.

"...He knew it was today," she murmured, reaching for her letter and holding it reverently. "I really do want to know..."

Sheik nodded, distracted as he gazed at his own letter. "I don't think he'd mind," he murmured, biting down on his lip.

Zelda stared at her own for a moment longer, then made a snap decision. "If he's upset, I'm blaming you," she told him, and ripped open the envelope, tugging out the sheet of paper and scanning it eagerly.

She sighed in relief. Not the most spectacular grades she had ever made... but certainly good enough. "How did you go?" she murmured.

"High eighties, mostly." Sheik was definitely smiling, obvious pleasure at his results. "And a ninety-four in beginner performance."

Zelda nodded, impressed. Sheik wasn't the most studious person she knew, and his marks probably indicated that he was in the right course. "I think we overlap - I mostly got low nineties."

" _Low_ nineties?" he asked incredulously, and she bristled a little. Couldn't she get low nineties? She couldn't ace everything!

"Who got low nineties?" called a voice from the door, and Zelda started guiltily. There stood Link, watching them with some curiosity, leaning back against the closed door. "Oh - you guys got your results, huh?"

Sheik was the first to recover, holding Link's own letter out to him. "They only just arrived. How was work?"

With a quick kiss for Sheik, Link accepted it, letting it dangle loosely in his hand. "It wasn't bad. One of the horses is having a tricky pregnancy, we have to keep an eye on her a lot. And Maladict's leg is healing well, I got to walk him around the corral today."

Off came his muddy boots, kicked to the corner of the tiled area before hitting carpet. Off came the coat and scarf, gloves and hat, Link's bag dropped unceremoniously beside the boots. The letter ended up half covered by the clothes, and Sheik reached for it nonchalantly.

"Aren't you going to read it?" he suggested carefully, reaching for Link's hand with his free one. His expression had softened somewhat. "You might as well put yourself out of your misery, I know you've been worried..."

For a moment, Link forced polite surprise onto his face before grabbing the letter back with a groan. "Fine. _Fine_. I'll open the damn thing..."

And he ripped it open, eyes flicking back and forth over the lines before he half-crumpled it in his hand. "Happy now?"

The letter was thrown unceremoniously to the floor as he stormed back to his room, and Zelda found herself staring at it even as Sheik cursed, snatching it up to read.

"Dammit," he muttered, then shoved it in her hands and hurried after his boyfriend.

Zelda swallowed hard, then smoothed the paper out, turning it over. Immediately, something twisted in her chest - the paper recorded three fails, one of them by a significant amount, and one subject that had barely, barely scraped a pass.

No wonder Link had been upset.

Hesitating, she set the paper down on the table, chewing on her lip absently. Would he want to keep it? She was almost certain he wouldn't want to. What did that mean for the next semester, too? So many subjects depended on these, the ones he had failed... what if they meant he couldn't finish his degree?

And why hadn't he just asked for help? A little tutoring could have prevented this. Now, though... now, there'd be few options left. He could take what few classes he still had available for the next semester, and pass or fail those, then take this lot all over again at the beginning of the next academic year. He could consider switching to another course.

Or he could forget university altogether. Zelda let out a soft sigh at the thought of that one - truly, it would mean giving up.

There were soft murmurs coming from the boys' room. Zelda tried not to listen.

Now, what of herself? Law, she had found, was interesting enough, but certainly no substitution for ancient history. Perhaps she could continue with things as they were, but she found it maddening trying to ignore her desire to study other things.

Perhaps she could work out a way around it... Letting out a thoughtful hum, she stood, reaching for the catalogue stashed in the drawers nearest to the table. If she took electives, it'd certainly take longer, but adding in a few history units would certainly make herself feel better.

Right - that was what she would do, she decided firmly. Next semester, she would slow down law and start taking history. That way, maybe she could find more satisfaction and happiness in it - make uni precisely what she had wanted.

She only wished she could do the same for Link, too...


	13. Chapter 12

Following the Results Fiasco (as Zelda had dubbed it), a slight melancholy had taken the household. Zelda had been quietly pleased with his results, and Sheik, honestly, had been as ecstatic as he ever got with his. But with Link's marks... well, it was hard to celebrate.

Link had thrown himself into distraction in what Sheik believed to be an attempt to not think about the next semester, and had dragged Sheik and Zelda out at night more than once. A few times, Shiki had joined them, and it was at a night out at the Eye (the Sheikah restaurant, cafe, meeting place, and a few other descriptions that Shiki had showed him all those weeks ago) that she first brought up the subject of Solstice.

It was approaching soon, she reminded them, and she had planned to travel abroad for it. Her mother was based in Termina and had invited her over for their New Year celebrations, the Carnival of Time, and when Shiki had quietly asked her a week or two ago, she had got permission for a few additional guests.

"Solstice in Termina?" Sheik asked thoughtfully, considering for a moment. "Well, I guess I can get time away from the cafe, it's closed on Solstice and New Year anyway..."

"And I don't have much over the holidays either," Zelda said with a smile. "I haven't been to Termina since I was little."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Link curiously. He looked briefly surprised, and then a smile began to spread across his face. "I've never been overseas," he said quietly, and then his smile began to fade. "But, um, I don't think I can afford it..."

"I'll pay," Zelda said quickly.

Link wilted just a little, and Sheik hid a wince. He knew full well that Link resented being seen as a charity case. Never before had he had any real problem with Zelda being one of the very privileged and himself being very... not, but he had always made a point of paying his own way.

"You don't have to," he muttered, expression a little torn. He had wanted to go to Termina, needed and (in Sheik's opinion) deserved a vacation, and not accepting would mean staying in a worn down university apartment on the biggest holiday of the year completely on his own.

This would not be the same as Zelda renting a cheap lake house with enough beds for three, or a camping trip with the entire cabin already booked. This would mean Zelda paying for an airfare, a hotel room (in an expensive city in the holiday season), and most likely expenses as well. Did Link even have a passport?

(For that matter, did you need a passport for Termina? Sheik was fairly certain the two nations had enough of a reciprocal agreement to only need some form of ID.)

With a swapped glance with Zelda that promised that he'd work on him, Sheik reached out to rest a hand on Link's. "It might be a nice break," he murmured, "You've never seen the ocean, have you?"

Link wavered almost visibly. The ocean... it would be too cold to swim in, unfortunately, in the depths of winter, but just seeing the sea stretch on and on with no end in sight until the horizon was an experience that Sheik wanted Link to have at least once.

"And mountains," Shiki murmured almost dreamily. "Snowy ones, not..." She waved a hand in the direction of the door, indicating the volcano they sat at the bottom of. "Ikana region is supposed to have some relation to the Sheikah, Mum can probably tell you more. And there's this swamp - it's not really _pretty_ , but there's some really cool communities in it."

"And then there's Clock Town," Sheik added with a little smile. "It's almost as big as Castle City, it's definitely not just a town any more... the whole city is laid out like a clock with this enormous clock tower in the centre. They'll be shooting fireworks off it for New Year. Everyone is in masks, there's live music, lots of celebrations... New Year's Day is the first day of the Carnival and it's good luck for couples to marry..."

He was wavering even more, Sheik could tell. Finally, with a defeated little sigh and a mildly embarrassed grin, he nodded. "Okay. I'll go."

Shiki grinned widely. "I'll tell Mum in the morning. Zelda, we can get a twin share, if you want - boys, I assume you'll want the Honeymoon Suite?"

Sheik promptly choked a little on his drink.

 

The day they arrived in Termina, it had been snowing softly, and Sheik's rarely-worn boots crunched softly as they stepped out of the airport. Link's fascination with flying had been contagious - while normally air travel was an irritation at best, with frustrating and borderline incompetent security, popped ears on take-off and landing, and endless waits at baggage claim (and, on top of that, the utter lack of decent airline food), Sheik had found himself caught up in his boyfriend's amazement.

"Did you see the clouds?" he asked Sheik dreamily as they wanted for the taxi, "They looked like cotton..."

"Or marshmallows!" Zelda piped up from nearby, visible tiredness etched on her face from the flight (only an hour and a half, but almost double that for time at the airport). "...I'm quite hungry right now."

Shiki grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Soon as we get in to Clock Town properly, I'll take you out to this great place." Her enthusiasm was almost as infectious as Link's, and Sheik found himself properly waking up to the idea. "It's Zora cuisine. Lots of seafood, really fresh - or we can go out for Goron. Or - what about something unique to Termina?"

"Something unique?" Link volunteered, "We get Goron stuff a few times a month in Kakariko."

And, Sheik added silently, there were only so many spices you could add to something before noticing the fundamental lack of taste and the burnt food beneath it. (Gorons liked things hot, apparently.)

She nodded, head canting to one side as she considered. "I'll get you guys something Ikanan," she finally suggested, "There's definitely nothing like it in Hyrule, that much is for sure."

The taxi arrived, and the four spilled in, their bags filling every available gap. Sheik had found himself in the back seat, squashed between Link on one side and Shiki on the other, and he had found himself most comfortable leaning up against his boyfriend.

Their destination was a small hotel on the western side of Clock Town (somewhere in the vicinity of two o'clock). Had Shiki been travelling alone, or if Sheik had been the only one to accompany her, they would have stayed at her mother's house on the outskirts of the city. With friends (and Zelda's father's bank account), a hotel in the city proper was definitely going to be the more logical choice.

It was a nice little place, Sheik decided begrudgingly as they pulled up outside. Stock Pot Inn, it was called, its previous humble beginnings overwhelmed as it became more and more popular. Now, it definitely had upgraded from tiny inn to boutique hotel - still with a similar amount of beds, but far more upmarket. The furnishings in the foyer, at least, suggested that they had definitely tried to go for something classy.

Granted, Sheik thought with a faint grin for himself, given the elaborately gilt-framed mirror over the reception desk, they hadn't always hit the mark.

The two rooms they would be staying in were across from each other, and the porter showed them both in turn. The girls were lucky enough to get a room that faced out into a square, perfect for people-watching and with enough interesting ledges and rooftops that Sheik had a course planned from the ground to the window with barely a second thought. Two single beds decorated in plush fabrics sat on the patterned rug, and a few artistically-scattered area cushions provided seating.

His and Link's room, alas, had no such view, facing the street and more buildings. At the ground level, he could hear voices, and he was almost certain that people could see in through the window.

Granted, this probably was the reason why his and Link's room had been cheaper... (Link, while they had been booking, had insisted on going for something less extravagant on the pain of him refusing to go at all.)

There was, he noted with a faint flush, definitely only one bed. And it was definitely just big enough for two people. And that, of course, was definitely the porter hiding a faint laugh at the two of them...

Still, Link was happily ignorant of any snickering, and dropped his bag on the floor with an audible thump. "This is great!" he told them happily, hurrying to inspect the tea and coffee facilities (limited, from what Sheik could see), flicking off each and every switch he could find (assuming, of course, that it was not actually a circuit breaker. He was sure the building manager wouldn't be very pleased with that...).

Outside, it had started snowing again. It was a fairly soft snow, at least, the frozen equivalent of a a quick drizzle, but certainly enjoyable-looking. Giving the boys a few minutes to settle in, Shiki and Zelda departed to freshen up and get into their cold weather clothing.

Sheik, of course, had known Zelda for far too long, and knew that her 'few minutes' to get ready could stretch as long as half an hour.

"So," he started conversationally, "This is Termina."

"I like it," Link immediately said with a grin, kicking his shoes off to go bounce experimentally on the bed. "The plane trip was really fun."

Sheik's ears were still feeling that type of 'fun', and he grimaced very slightly. "Air travel isn't my favourite," he muttered, then paused. "...Although I'm not sure about boats, either..." Why couldn't everything be feet or trains? That was all he had ever needed.

"Fussy," Link grinned, leaning over to give him a kiss. "We're here now, right? So you can enjoy yourself now!"

"I'm sure I will," Sheik murmured, closing in to deepen and intensify said kiss.

Feeling Link smile against his lips as he slid his hands into Sheik's hair was a definite bonus. There was a brightness in his eyes as he drew away slowly, hands still buried in thick hair, smiling languidly. "Is this part of travelling too?"

Sheik chuckled, producing vibrations. "I'm sure it counts as a new and interesting experience."

"Or old favourites," Link murmured, sliding his hands down Sheik's back from the crown of his hair to the back pockets of his jeans. "I bet we can make some new memories here too."

Link was certainly enthusiastic today, wasn't he? Sheik smiled again, drawing back just enough to take blue eyes bright with joy. "What's your favourite?" he asked curiously, almost nudging Link's chin up with his nose to nuzzle at his throat. "I have no doubt that we can try to enhance it."

"I'll think about favourite memories later," Link told him, just a little impatient, and stole another kiss again. "Let's not talk, okay?"

Well. The alternative was rather pleasant as well.

...Especially if twin giggles from the door were any indication. Sheik lifted his head and gave Zelda and Shiki a hard stare, pretending hard they hadn't just found him straddling his boyfriend. "You're finished early."

Zelda gave a little shrug. "I really do want to go look around. Shall we, er, let you finish what you were doing?"

(" _What_ he was doing?" Link muttered petulantly.)

Well, it had certainly killed the mood. With a murmur to Link about later tonight that sent the Hylian blushing, the two slowly got themselves ready, heading down the stairs to meet with the girls.

Termina awaited, and Sheik was more than happy to see what it had in store for them.


	14. Chapter 13

Whatever lingering doubts Link had had about accepting the offer were rapidly fading along with the remnants of the old year.

Solstice Eve had been spent at Shiki's mother's place, Link and Zelda taken into the fold and accepted temporarily as family. (And, as Sheik had pointed out, through Link's involvement with him and Zelda being the closest thing he had ever had to a sister, the comparison was not totally inaccurate.) There had been a feast spread out fit for a king - with just about all of Sheik and Shiki's Terminan relatives gathered around the table, Link had found himself not missing the Home as much as he had thought he would have.

Still, he did find himself an international phone card to call them. Termina was two hours behind Hyrule, and he found them in the midst of dinner preparations, but he had still got the chance to talk to Ilia and to Bo (temporarily diverted from the turkey and bedecked in his Giftgiver costume, and Link hid a smile at the memory of Solstice two years earlier).

University was a subject that was carefully not approached, and Link banished it from his mind as soon as the thought even appeared.

And there had been gifts. Link had, once again, saved every spare cent from working at the ranch that wasn't directly going towards rent or food, and he found himself reasonably content with his choices. For Zelda, he had found a book - a probably unimaginative idea, granted, but she seemed delighted with what he had found (a nice thick volume on the ancient history of the Kakariko region).

For Sheik, Link had had to put some thought into it. The end result was one he presented almost nervously - it was partially handmade, and the sudden paranoid thought that Sheik wouldn't want something like that had flitted through his mind as Sheik unwrapped the paper.

And then he had stopped and stared, gazing down at the (mildly clumsy) image of a golden harp painted on the front of a thin sheet of plywood, the rest painted a deep royal blue. It was bound to another piece at one end with dark red ribbon, and sandwiched inside was every piece of sheet music Link could find for the harp, most with annotations and pictures and notes - and, right at the very end and printed painstakingly in the Sheikah script with some stealthy help from Shiki, three carefully translated words.

"Ana sadir amah," Link murmured almost shyly as Sheik reached the page, and the sheer happiness in Sheik's eyes was worth every teasing word from Shiki.

"Ana sadir amah," Sheik repeated, leaning in for a gentle kiss. "You learnt the Sheikah words for it?"

Shiki grinned, leaning forward to peer at Link's handiwork. "I couldn't leave poor little loverboy out in the lurch, could I?" she told them brightly, smiling at Link's own gift (not quite as elaborate, but the necklace was colourful enough that he was sure it'd suit her style).

His own gifts received (a book on horse riding from Zelda, and he smiled at the coincidence of both giving the other books, a thick, warm, plush winter coat in dark green with a hood from Sheik, replacing the somewhat battered one he was suffering through, and a hug from Shiki, who blithely explained that she had sort of forgotten to buy gifts for anyone but her parents, but wasn't her presence acceptable enough?), they had departed for bed, ready for the Solstice celebrations that would take place the next day - and, that night, the end of the year.

The day had been festive in a way that was both disconcertingly similar and bewilderingly different to the Hyruleans. The decorations had the same general theme of winter, but nearly everywhere they looked were peculiar motifs - a stylised sun and a moon locked in an embrace, an elaborately decorated skull with a vine growing out of one eye socket, a cresting wave in flames.

"Termina is big on balance stuff," Shiki explained as they made their way through the packed market place, steaming cups of hot chocolate and coffee in their hands. "So we have things like... day and night, life and death, fire and water. If you stay around for tomorrow, you'll see weddings where people have sun and moon masks, and fire and water ones - the skull and leaf ones are for the ones who are _really_ morbid." She grinned, and Link found himself suspecting that if Shiki ever married a Terminan, she'd be wearing one of those skull masks.

Maybe he could have a sun one, and Sheik would suit a moon one, and then he blinked, shaking his head as he realised where his train of thought had led him.

They had stuffed themselves full of food, hot roasted nuts and fluffy, sweet rolls drizzled in honey and little candies that Shiki said were a Terminan Carnival of Time tradition, sticky yellow and purple twists that threatened to stain Link's teeth in interesting colours. For a more savoury bite, there were roasted vegetables on sticks and pastries wrapped around some kind of meat, and Link found himself happily full by the time midnight began to approach.

Everywhere, there was music and celebrations, groups of people and people content to be on their own but surrounded by life. Sipping something hot that tasted like it was in between wine and tea and the entire contents of a spice shop, Link found Sheik's gloved hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Rupee for your thoughts?" he murmured, and Sheik started a little, leaning into Link's side.

"I was thinking you looked freezing," he said back quietly, tugging off one of his scarves (Link recognised it as the one he had given to Sheik for Solstice two years ago) and draping it over Link's own neck.

He made a wondering little sound, raising a hand to touch it. It was true, he had forgotten his scarf, but they were already a decent way from the hotel and he hadn't wanted to interrupt. Smiling briefly, he stole another kiss. "Thanks."

Where was Zelda? There, with Shiki, laughing and drinking. She caught Link's eye then gave him a wave, pointing up at the enormous clock hanging over their heads.

Forty seconds to go.

At thirty seconds, the music changed - the orchestra launched into an overture, something grand and bombastic. At fifteen seconds, it became a drum roll, and at ten seconds, a different instrument joined a crescendo as each second ticked down.

And at midnight, the orchestra reached a fortissimo, the great clock rang out, and the night exploded into colour as the fireworks display put anything that had ever been shown in Castle City to shame.

Link immediately found himself with an armful of Sheik, kissing him back with gusto before reluctantly pulling away with his face red. But still, he was grinning widely, catching him to spin him in a quick circle.

"Happy new year," Sheik told him gently, then rested his head against Link's shoulder.

"Happy new year," Link smiled back, gazing up at the fireworks erupting overhead.

It was time to start anew.

 

Starting anew, to Link, meant a return to Kakariko after a glorious week in Termina, sitting down with the newspaper, and searching for a full-time job.

It would clash with university, he knew that. But he was also highly doubtful of ever actually returning - would he even be able to, with three failures and a barely-there pass? He had tried university and done abysmally at it, and the idea of ever actually returning made him feel sick to the stomach.

But he still hadn't officially dropped out yet. Zelda, in particular, had so desired for the three of them to be together at university - how could he let her down? Sheik had found the course he had always wanted - how could he put that in jeopardy? The tiny sum of money he received from the government would run out the instant he dropped out.

But quietly getting a job, one that'd help them pay rent, utilities, food... at least, then, he wouldn't feel like such a freeloader. At least then he wouldn't feel useless.

A quarter of the way through the listings, he paused, pen hovering over the ad. No experience necessary, that was definitely what he was looking for... Scribbling down the details (for a wait staff position in the restaurant district he, Sheik, and Zelda usually went to), he continued on, noting down whenever he found something not requiring experience or offering training.

Five. Just five. Link sighed, then reached for the phone.

Of the five, two had already been filled. One more fell by the wayside when the phone rang out, not a single answer (not even a machine!) in sight. That just left two - some data entry job in an office, and one that seemed distinctly more interesting.

Trainees wanted for the bar staff at the Bell, a bar in the restaurant district. More to the point, though, Link knew the name - the Bell was one of the biggest gay bars in the region.

Well, Zelda was out doing one of her extracurricular history things, and Sheik was visiting his grandmother. If they wanted him to come in for a quick interview, then he would be more than okay with that...

 

"So it's just a trial position for now, they want me to do the training for five nights, and that's just minimum wage. But if they like me, it's really good money!"

A few hours later, seated around the table, Link found himself eagerly explaining his afternoon. He had gone in to the eerily-silent bar (they were just weird when they were closed, he decided) to meet with the manager, who had decided to give him trial training. He could start that evening, and they would decide from there - the bar had found itself very short-staffed recently, with most of its employees going back to classes soon. (Link felt an uncomfortable twinge at the idea - he still hadn't decided whether or not he'd do the same.)

"That place can be seedy," Sheik pointed out dubiously, "One of my classmates is gay as well, he says that the bar staff get hit on almost constantly."

"No one's going to steal me, don't worry," Link told him confidently, wrapping an arm around Sheik's shoulders. "If anyone tries to hit on me, I'll tell them no thanks, my boyfriend is way hotter than they are."

Zelda badly stifled a chuckle, straightening up with a little laugh. "Well, if you want, we can come and visit," she suggested. "You don't have to tell your boss that we're keeping you company, right?"

"Right!" Link grinned, warmed at the idea of seeing Sheik and Zelda even while he worked. Bar staff had to talk to customers, right? That certainly wasn't something he could do with data entry.

With a sigh, Sheik nodded once, sitting back in his chair. "It would be interesting to go," he mused, and Link had some idea of what he had been thinking. Even after four years of being out (for Sheik - it had only been two for himself, although he had known that he only really liked men since the tender age of twelve), neither of them had made any particular attempt at exploring anything resembling a gay scene. When they had both turned eighteen the year before, they had been in the midst of studying and exams (for all the good it had done him), the summer had been given over to being on vacation, planning a move to Kakariko, and relaxing, and then they had found themselves here...

"They want me to start tonight at six," he explained, "So that's too early to get dinner before it... how about you guys go out and eat, then come over?"

There were nods all around, and Link grinned at his success. Maybe this would be something he could excel at, find himself content to do for a good while yet. Maybe this would be an answer to his problems.

Maybe, just maybe, this could be a way to be happy.


	15. Chapter 14

Nearly nine o'clock, and Zelda found herself feeling distinctly out of place.

The bar Link was now working at seemed to be entirely made out of gay men and occasionally their straight female friends, despite the promise on the door of it accepting all orientations, genders, and identities. Where were the gay or bisexual girls? Or, for that matter, the bisexual boys? Even the décor seemed exclusively aimed at those attracted to men.

With a sigh, she made her way back up to the bar and dropped herself on the first free stool she could find. Still drying a glass, Link made his way over, automatically starting with, "Welcome to the Bell, how can we ring your - oh." Grinning sheepishly when he spotted just who it was he was delivering his spiel to, he set the glass down. "Hi, Zel."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Hi yourself. How's it going?"

He shrugged a little, ducking back to his station for another glass to dry. "Okay, I guess. Sheik was right, people keep hitting on me." He looked a little rueful around the whole thing.

"Only to be expected for the spunkiest bar staff in the place," she teased, already feeling a little better about the whole thing. "Have you got to use your line about your boyfriend being hotter?"

"Twice!" Link grinned.

She chuckled a little, scanning for Sheik. There he was, chatting quietly with someone he had introduced as the classmate that had told him about this place. He looked rather uncomfortable, and Zelda spotted a few lewd looks being cast his way. Sheikah did tend to be exoticised, she remembered with a slight wince. No wonder he looked awkward.

"- and it's in a few minutes, so I should - Zel?" Link paused, and Zelda realised abruptly that she had, in fact, been ignoring him for the past several minutes.

"Sorry," she winced, "What's on in a few minutes?"

He smiled, showing that he really wasn't that put-out. "The drag show. It gets really busy just before it, so I should go help with the drinks, but we can talk when I'm done."

She nodded distractedly, accepting the mineral water Link passed to her (he knew her tastes too well) and turning on her stool to face the stage. Indeed, they were setting something up, and Zelda could spot a glimpse of glitter waiting in the wings. Link returned to his supervisor (showing him how to mix together some drink that looked almost radioactive), and Zelda sat back to wait for the beginning of the show.

It wasn't long to go. The lights dimmed, and an announcer's voice rang out - "Welcome to the Bell's weekly drag night, please show the ladies your utmost appreciation and adoration! Please welcome our _amazing_ opening act... the Fabulous Debbie!"

The lights disappeared entirely - save one, illuminating a spinning disco ball. For a very long handful of seconds, there was nothing - and then a chuckle rang out over the sound system.

"Hyrule is glad to die for love, they delight in fighting duels," the sultry purr spoke out, "But I prefer a man who lives and gives expensive _jewels_."

And the lights snapped on, revealing a tall, imposing-looking drag queen, white hair teased to within an inch of its life, smoky purple eyeshadow and white lipstick elaborately painted, a black diamond painted (or was it tattooed?) beneath her left eye. The dress was nothing short of fabulous, either - white and almost skin-tight at the top, diamond shapes cut out in strategic places. A huge blue gem hung from her right ear, and the necklace had enough glittering white diamonds to buy a small nation.

Even without the next few lines as the song began in earnest, no one needed to tell her that the name of the performance was 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend'.

The show had been an experience, and Zelda had found herself genuinely enjoying it, clapping and cheering along with the rest of the crowd. A few songs in, Sheik joined her, and now she had someone to talk to between songs. By the time it finished an hour later, she was smiling again, turning back to Link with a small grin. "That was pretty fun!"

"Yeah," he smiled back, then suddenly snapped to attention, swallowing roughly - the first performer, Fabulous Debbie, had just sat down next to Zelda. "Your performance was wonderful, ma'am. Can I get something for you?" he asked politely.

Debbie (who, this close, was revealed to be _much_ taller than the three of them) peered down her nose at him, a slight frown on those white painted lips. "You can get me my usual, boy, and make it snappy," she drawled, turning away deliberately.

Link visibly wavered. "Ah - sorry, ma'am, I -"

She turned back to him, and this time, the frown could peel paint off the wall. "Did I stutter?" she said pointedly, "My dear, they really are scraping the bottom of the barrel now. Did they just pick you up from nursery school, child?"

He swallowed again, hands white-knuckled against the counter, biting down on his lip. Zelda winced sympathetically and swapped a glance with Sheik, who nodded grimly - all of those were visible signs of him fighting for calm. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he told her quietly, "This is my first day. What's your usual? I can try to make it."

With another snort, she made a flicking gesture in his direction. "Just get me someone _competent_ , will you, child? There's a good boy."

As Link trudged away, Zelda turned to Debbie with a slight frown of her own. "He's trying really hard," she said softly, "And this really is his first night."

Sheik nodded, expression resolute. "You shouldn't be so hard on him. Everyone had to start somewhere, didn't they?"

"Little boys don't need to be coddled," Debbie told them with a toss of her head, rising from the seat and stalking away to another part of the bar. The moment she was gone, Sheik gave an exaggerated roll of the eyes.

"What a fucking _diva_ ," he said with feeling, and for once, Zelda agreed entirely.

 

It was over lunch a few days later, four days into Link's training and with all indication that he could continue, that he finally dropped the bombshell Zelda suspected was coming - he was going to formally drop out of university.

"I didn't just... this isn't a spur of the moment thing," he told them quietly, staring at his coffee as if he was hoping he could drown himself in it. "But I have _two_ jobs now, so I can keep paying rent and everything, and - and I'm really bad at uni things. You guys _know_ that."

With a sigh, Zelda reached over, mirroring Sheik's actions and resting a hand on Link's. He looked distraught - how long had he been worried about that? "Don't worry about it," she answered gently. "I know this isn't for everyone..."

He shrugged a little, still gazing at his mug. "I know. But I didn't want to disappoint you guys."

"You haven't," Sheik said firmly. "What's there to worry about? We're still all together, aren't we? You're not exactly going to be sent back to Kokiri in shame."

Link's laugh was weak. "That's good, 'cause I'm too old for the Home, I'd be on the streets if I did..."

Zelda bit down on her lip suddenly. Of course - while she and Sheik still had a home in Castle City, Link had nothing but a student rental apartment. The only family he had left could not take him in - he had explained that Aryll and their grandmother lived in a one-bedroom apartment (with Aryll sleeping on a sofa bed in the living room), and his uncle lived practically in the middle of nowhere, where a car would be necessary to get anywhere.

From the government, Link received a small amount of money for low-income students. The risk of losing that, to him, would be great.

"But it should be fine," Link continued slowly, smiling crookedly. "I mean - it's more money than I had. And it's part time, so I won't be gone _every_ night, right?"

"Right," Sheik repeated, his own smile a little sad. If Link had shifts running up to midnight, and he had classes during the day... well, seeing each other would be fewer and further between.

Quietly, Link reached over and caught Sheik's hand.

Zelda exhaled, then stood suddenly, almost knocking her spoon off the table. "Let's go," she told them firmly, "We'll go out shopping, I want to get a few more warm things. And there's a music store nearby, too."

Link swapped a wry smile with Sheik, then nodded. "Sure." Zelda smiled back - she was sure they were partially humouring her with her love for shopping, but at this point, Link complaining about endless clothing stores would be better than worrying about his future.

And so they pressed on. In the music store, while Sheik had talked shop with the owner (she was apparently a former member of the Hyrulean Symphony Orchestra, and Sheik was hanging on her every word), Link and Zelda had wandered. With Link seated at a piano, plunking at different keys at random, she was a little surprised to hear a recognisable (albeit simplistic) rendition of the Prelude of Light, a piece of minor religious significance, and she spun around to stare at Link curiously.

Had he really worked that out by ear?

The music store wasn't quite as interesting to her as it was to the boys, not compared to the others Zelda wanted to visit, but she pressed on nonetheless. Maybe she could make a few quiet purchases for Link, too... Pausing out the front of one of her favourites in Kakariko, she gestured for the boys to stop hanging behind and entered.

Hmm... perhaps the dark blue? It did suit her, and she wouldn't have minded a change from pink and purple. Or, maybe, red? She was sure she looked terrible in yellows and oranges, and they were right out, but maybe a hint of green...

"May I help you?" came a smooth voice, and Zelda lifted her head to spot the store manager - and then, rather abruptly, realised that she had seen him in slightly different circumstances rather recently.

Oh, his hair was neatly brushed and flipped over one eye, and the make-up was definitely less dramatic. The blue gem in his ear was smaller and less ostentatious, the slashed white jeans were far more high fashion than diva, and the mauve off-the-shoulder sweater bearing the letters TGIF in large font (then, beneath it, the translation - _Thank God I'm Fabulous_ )... well, that certainly fitted his other occupation.

"Fabulous Debbie?" Zelda asked in surprise, then paused, glancing at his name tag. "Ghirahim. Sorry - _was_ that you?"

"My secret is out!" he exclaimed, clasping a hand to his forehead. "Well, well. And those two little boys are with you. How nice."

It was remarkable how much disdain he could put into the word 'nice'.

"Yes, I'm with my _friends_ ," Zelda told him pointedly, "And I'm thinking about what colour to choose. Maybe I'll go look for different colours elsewhere. What do you think?"

Oh, he recognised her, Zelda thought with a hidden smile. Fabulous or not, this was still his day job, from the looks of things. And being able to serve the Prime Minister's daughter - well, it would certainly be a nice boon for him.

"I'm sure the ultramarine would look - pardon the pun - fabulous on you," he told her in a purr, suddenly all attentiveness and care. "Or, we have a stunning amethyst - it'd suit those little earrings of yours."

Casting a terribly bemused glance at the boys, still waiting uncertainly at the entrance of the shop, Zelda allowed herself to be led off to the changing rooms. Well, this was certainly new...


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: Mild sexual content at end.

"I bought you a coffee."

Sheik glanced up from his textbook in some surprise, a smile crossing his face at the beautiful sight before him - a cup full of deeply brown, deliciously scented, steaming hot coffee.

Oh - and his boyfriend. That was rather nice to see, too.

"Thank you," he said gratefully, taking a long sip and sighing in bliss. "Ahh. Perfect. What are you doing on campus?" Especially this early - Link was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a morning person.

Link shrugged a little, settling on the bench beside him. The green jacket Sheik had bought him was holding up well, he noted. "I knew you had an early class," he said nonchalantly, "And I need to talk to the riding people at nine."

"That's an hour and a half away," Sheik pointed out, taking another sip of the nectar of the goddesses. "You should get something hot too."

Link chuckled. "Already got one," he murmured, and cuddled into Sheik's side.

Eventually, Link did depart to get a coffee for himself as eight o'clock approached. Sheik headed off to his first class for the day, raising a hand to wave, looking a little thoughtful.

He had been peering at sheet music, studying it for the class he was settling down in now. Link, leaning against his shoulder, had been doing some study of his own - and he had hummed a few bars. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it - he had been humming snatches as well. But as the lecturer started going over the class outline for the day, it occurred to him quite suddenly - Link had never had formal music training.

So how had he learnt to sight read sheet music?

Maybe he had some level of innate skill? It certainly would help bolster his confidence, allow him to feel good at something other than just horse riding (since the archery and fencing had fallen somewhat by the wayside since moving to Kakariko). Perhaps music lessons...

But in what? Link had a harmonica that he could play rather decently, but Sheik knew that he could definitely try something a little more challenging. He had taken to piano decently enough, with the little demonstration in the music store more than enough evidence than that. But no, he just couldn't see Link as a pianist...

Maybe a guitar. A left-handed guitar, he thought, would suit Link well enough. Of all the stringed instruments (and Sheik knew them all), the guitar alone seemed like it fit him - he was certainly not a harpist, he didn't have the personality for it. Violins, violas, cellos... none of them clicked in his mind, they all seemed a little too... well, formal for Link. A double bass? There were other things that Link would probably prefer between his legs. Snorting at the image, he shook his head, ducking down a little when he realised that his snort had got him a dirty look from the lecturer.

The lecturer delivering the class, he realised belatedly, he hadn't heard a word of, and hurried to catch up on the material on the current slide.

Link and music... it fit surprisingly well.

 

"A trip home?" Sheik repeated with some surprise, giving Zelda a curious look.

"Right!" she grinned, twirling spaghetti around her fork. "I've already checked - Link doesn't have any shifts on Friday _or_ Saturday night, neither do you, both he and Malon have got the weekend off at the ranch, and I can move my Friday to Thursday. We can go visit Telma again, Malon and Link can see Ilia, and Aryll texted me the other day and told me to tell Link to get his butt over for a visit." Finishing her spaghetti swirl, she popped the whole lot in her mouth, smiling at them both as she chewed.

Sheik considered it for a moment. "It might be nice," he said slowly, propping his chin up on one hand. "And I'm sure Malon can take the spare room."

Swallowing her mouthful, Zelda nodded. "I've already arranged it with Dad."

Link let out a little laugh, hand over his mouth to hide half-eaten pasta. "How did you know we were going to say yes?"

"Because," Zelda told them angelically.

There really was no arguing that logic, was there? Sheik hid a smile.

"If there's no objections," she told them, spearing an innocent mushroom, "We'll get the midday train after classes on Friday, go out to Telma's for dinner, then we have all of Saturday. Although, Link, Aryll said she had Saturday afternoon free."

"You really planned this whole thing out, huh?" Link asked bemusedly.

Sheik dug back into his spaghetti, the faintest of smiles on his face. He did miss Castle City - while Kakariko had been his birthplace, that was almost insignificant compared to the thirteen years he had spent there. It had been home to him, home for a very long time, and there was a part of him that missed it greatly.

Parkour in Kakariko was a great experience. But he missed his own routes, the paths he had developed over six years, the shortcuts he had discovered. He missed the music shop where the owner knew him by name, he missed milkshakes at Telma's, he missed the hidden spot beneath the old bridge in Dinsvale Park. He definitely missed Impa - despite seeing his grandmother here in Kakariko every so often and despite Shiki and her extended family, Impa had been a mother to him for a very long time.

"And then there's Saturday night," Link said suddenly, glancing at Sheik and smiling almost gently. For a moment, Sheik was caught unawares - and then he remembered exactly what happened on a January afternoon three years ago.

"Yeah," he echoed quietly, bumping Link's foot with his under the table. "We'll go out for dinner."

How could he have forgotten? It wasn't just anyone who could manage a third anniversary when they weren't even nineteen yet.

Whatever the trip to Castle City brought, he would, he decided, make it a trip worth remembering.

 

It was good to be home. Not even a day had passed since the train had pulled in and he had been met by a clap on the shoulder by Impa, but already, he felt relaxed in a way that Kakariko didn't quite make him feel. The dinner had been, as usual, spectacular, and Telma had delegated running the bar to her workers once nine o'clock had rolled around.

She wanted to hear everything. And while it had only been a few months since they had last visited, quite a bit had happened since then.

Naturally, she had remembered that it would be his and Link's anniversary the next day, and the chocolate cake she presented to them both free of charge was worth it if only for Link's wide eyes.

There was, Sheik noted, quite a lot of ganache on it.

But now it was morning again, and Sheik was ready for the day. Zelda had already presented him and Link with her present - a night in one of Hyrule's best hotels, entirely to themselves and with all expenses paid. There would, she promised, be a chilled bottle of champagne waiting for them - this was their first anniversary as legal adults, she pointed out, and they were definitely meant to make the most of it.

Was she implying what he highly suspected she was implying?

Knowing Zelda, she probably was. Sheik wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Still, they had the full day ahead. The music shop had taken new significance - at Sheik's suggestion, Link explored, going for the guitars as he had expected. Watching carefully to see which ones caught his eye, Link's skimming fingers paused at one - definitely pre-loved, and indeed battered beyond all use, even if it was left-handed. Only a few strings remained on it, and when he plucked one, it showed that it probably hadn't seen a tune up in quite some time.

He knew the store sold pre-loved instruments, but this particular one looked like it had been chewed up and spat out. And this was the one Link was the most fascinated by?

"Do you think you would like to learn to play?" Sheik suggested quietly when Link sat down with one, strumming awkwardly on the right-handed instrument. "We can hire a left-handed one back in Kakariko - I think you have a good ear for it."

"Learn guitar?" Link sounded quietly intrigued, strumming gently again. "It might be kind of fun. I can already read a few notes."

Nodding, Sheik took a seat opposite him. "That was what gave me he idea," he admitted, "When you were reading my music and humming to it - how did you learn to read sheet music?"

Link blinked. "Well - it's not _hard_ , I just read over your shoulder when you were playing, and I could work out which notes went with what..."

Chuckling a little, Sheik patted the collection of music he had found. "You have some innate skill with music, I think. It might be good."

Smiling back, hesitant but pleased, Link nodded. "I think I'd like that a lot."

Part one of Operation Turn Link Into A Musician - a success.

 

In the afternoon, they had parted ways again. Link was due to visit his family, and so Zelda joined him in the shopping district, meeting (as he had requested) at the music store.

"Are you sure?" the owner asked dubiously, gazing down at the battered guitar. "We have better left-handed guitars."

"Link seemed interested in it," Sheik explained with some embarrassment. "What I want to know is if it can be repaired - and, if possible, painted or lacquered green."

The owner frowned down at it thoughtfully, reaching out to touch the fragile wood. "It's possible," he finally said, "But it'll take time - at least few weeks. And it won't be cheap."

"His birthday isn't for months," Zelda piped up, "And trust me, money isn't a problem."

Sheik still winced when the owner told them the cost of rehabilitating the injured instrument. "It'll be worth it," he told Zelda weakly as they departed, having put down a small sum to keep the guitar aside until they actually knew whether Link enjoyed playing or not. "If it's something he's good at and enjoys, well..."

Zelda nodded, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "He deserves a reason to smile," she said with a smile of her own, and Sheik was left to consider that night - where, he hoped, Link would definitely be smiling.

 

The dinner had been elaborate and delicious, and Link was still licking his lips after more chocolate than Sheik could have reasonably expected to stick in his mouth as they made their way up to the hotel room.

Zelda certainly had gone all out. Link's eyes were enormous as he took in every detail - the huge, plush bed, the sinfully soft carpet, the fixtures. Soft music was already playing, a string quartet (how appropriate, he thought, considering their morning) on a hidden sound system, and, as promised, a bottle of champagne was chilling.

The jacuzzi, too, was a rather nice touch.

And that was how, half an hour later, Sheik found himself naked, wet, and covered in bubbles, sipping champagne with reflexes that were becoming a little more on the fuzzy side, and an equally naked, wet, and bubble-covered Link straddling his thighs and doing his best to give a thorough exploration of Sheik's mouth with his own.

Altogether, not a bad place to be. Sheik smiled to himself as he slid his hands down Link's back, fingers gently kneading into muscles, leaning in to nuzzle against his collarbone. Link let out a little groan as his hands reached their target, hips jerking somewhat and telling Sheik exactly what state his boyfriend was in.

"Please?" he murmured, drawing back in order to kiss Sheik properly.

Was it the heat, or the champagne, or Link's proximity that made him feel so light-headed? As Sheik nodded feverishly and reached for the oil Link was pressing into his hand, he found that he really didn't care.

The real world was very far away, Sheik's universe shrunk down to hot water and a warm, willing, beautiful Hylian on his lap. There was no university, no work, no sub par student accommodation. No long train journeys ahead, no financial problems, no need to worry about anything but what was directly in front of each other. Just once, let them have each other and this night, and no one and nothing else.

They deserved it.


	17. Chapter 16

This was the most boring semester that Link could remember.

Before, he had had school, a distraction every day. Even during the last semester, with its occasional free days, he had still had something to do during the daylight hours. But now, with work only at night and on the weekends, he had found himself at a lost.

The first few weeks, he had almost enjoyed it. He listened (and played) music, practicing with the guitar hired from the music shop in Kakariko. He had gone for long walks through the winter landscape, and he had arranged with the stables at the university to keep Epona there. He went riding often, Epona delighting in driving herself through the snow. On days when both Sheik and Zelda had long classes, he visited the Goro region, wandering amongst the shops for the sheer novelty of it.

But then boredom had set in. He had begun drifting, head down against the snow, returning to the apartment chilled and discontent. Work at the ranch was still only on a very casual basis when the other workers were gone for the weekend, and work at the bar was only during the night and not exactly his favourite thing in the world.

The weeks passed slowly, and Link sank further into apathy. The moments he and Sheik and Zelda could spend together were precious moments worthy of being cherished, but in between, when their schedules took them away, he was quick to sink into something that wasn't quite depression but was still a little more than just plain boredom.

He needed to do something. Sheik had his music, and in it, he had found something to be truly passionate about. Zelda had a degree that she may not have loved but was still talented at, and her history on the side.

What did he have, other than part time jobs involving mucking out stables and mixing drinks for strangers? (Thankfully, not at the same time.)

Strangely enough, it was at the latter job that he found a faint lead, a very slight possibility. In working at the bar, and now that he was trusted not to mistake the vodka for the soda water, he found himself talking to people. It wasn't a bad thing, listening to other people's problems and offering them advice, even if his wasn't exactly based on a huge amount of experience. Sometimes, he had even found himself talking to people he knew, an unspoken little ritual of, 'Oh, you're gay?' 'Yes, and you are too?' taking place each time.

This time, he had found himself talking to one of his former lecturers. The bar kept a few snacks at hand, and, almost absently, he had offered his former professor some crackers.

"Ah - these aren't a meat flavour, are they?" Professor Horwell (well - no longer a professor to Link, at least) had said, almost sheepishly. Link, catching on, had nodded, fishing the box out from under the counter to scan the ingredients.

"Yeah, they are - are you a vegetarian?"

He nodded. "Right. May I see?" Link handed the box over, the man inspected it briefly, then nodded. "Oh dear. 'Real chicken flavour' - I guess that rules that out, huh?"

Chuckling, Link reached for a bowl of salted nuts instead. "How about these?"

They went over quite a bit better, and Link nodded in satisfaction. "One of my best friends is a vegetarian," he said almost absently, and the lecturer gave him a curious look.

"Did he ever explain his reasons?"

"Her. And I think she liked the taste better, and, well - not eating animals." He had never really asked about it, had he?

Popping a few cashews into his mouth, Horwell chewed thoughtfully. "You wanted to work with animals in some form, didn't you?" he said slowly, and Link nodded - Horwell's class had been the only one he had scraped a pass in, and animals had always been his main goal. "Have you ever properly thought about what it would mean to work with some animals and eat others?"

A frown crossed Link's face. Meat was meat, wasn't it? It was part of the circle of life. Predators ate prey, and that was the way it had always been.

Hadn't it?

"I don't know," he said slowly, "I mean - you talked about predation in class -"

"For carnivores and omnivores," he corrected gently. "It's curious, humans seem to have far more in common with herbivores than omnivores. We require our meat to be thoroughly cooked, we find it practically inedible without seasoning, and we can't eat a good percentage of the animal. And I don't particularly care what some of the more machismo-laden students may think," he added dryly, "They would find it rather tricky to hunt down and kill a cow with their bare teeth."

The sudden image of Groose running after a cow and being dragged after it, teeth clamped determinedly around its tail, crossed Link's mind. He stifled a laugh.

"We have canines, though," he said slowly, "Don't we?"

"So do other frugivorous mammals, mostly primates - do you recall what 'frugivorous' means?" Always the teacher, there was a faint smile on his face.

Frugivorous... he knew the last part meant 'eating'. What was the 'frugi' part? What started with F? "...They eat funguses?" he suggested weakly.

"The correct pluralisation is 'fungi'," Horwell corrected gently, "And no - frugivorous diets are a subset of herbivorous diets. But instead of eating grasses and leaves, which humans find relatively indigestible, frugivores mostly eat fruits. Do you eat much fruit?"

It was probably a sign that he had been working there for too long, Link thought with some resignation, that the first thought that flitted through his mind was, "Only when Sheik is in the mood".

"Um, I eat a lot," he instead answered cautiously. Horwell nodded in approval.

"I'd like you to try an experiment," he said, chuckling a little when Link blanched. "You won't have to write a lab report, don't worry. But you said your friend is a vegetarian - try following her lead for a week, and see how you feel." Was that the slightest of hesitations? "And if you want to work with animals, I can recommend a charity that is always willing to take volunteers. They have information on careers that don't require as... academic a path, too."

A way to work with animals that didn't require a degree? Fascinated, Link nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Professor Horwell."

"Just Horwell," he said with a beatific smile. "This isn't a classroom setting any more. Now, may I have another of those delicious cocksucking cowboys?"

Oh yeah, Link decided dazedly as he reached for the liqueurs, this definitely wasn't a classroom any more...

 

"Your _former professor_ ordered a _what_?"

Chuckling a little himself, Link reached out to press two fingers against Sheik's lips, well aware of the laughter he knew was going to erupt. "Yeah. But aside from that, he had a really good idea. It's this place called... ah, hold on..." Fumbling through the pockets of his cargo pants, he found the little card. "It's called ARK - Animal Rescue Kakariko. There's also branches in Castle City and Lake Hylia - I don't know how they tell the difference between ARK with a K and ARC with a C if you're just saying it."

Dropping a kiss against the tips of Link's fingers as he drew away, Sheik made a thoughtful wordless sound. "I'm sure you'll get the context of it eventually," he said helpfully. "Would it be paid or voluntary?"

"Just voluntary," Link admitted sheepishly, "But it's something to do during the day. And he said that they have connections for getting _real_ jobs working with animals that don't need uni or anything."

Moving away just long enough to collect his laptop, Sheik settled next to Link again, waiting for the connection to kick in before pulling up the website. "It might not be a bad idea," he murmured, "You've got a natural knack with animals, I think."

Quietly pleased, Link smiled.

An expression for interest in volunteering submitted, the evening approached with Link in a better mood than he had been in for some time. He had some idea on what to do now, for possibly the first time in a good handful of years, and hadn't he had doubts about entering university in the first place? Hadn't a part of his mind quietly whispered that even vet studies would be a challenge he wasn't sure he could live up to?

This, at least, was something he could at least try.

And it was a good thing that he was in a good mood. With a carefully wrapped package shoved in one pocket of his coat (it may have already been early spring, but the nights were still frigid), the three of them were setting out for dinner - one of the nicer restaurants in Hyrule, one that Zelda had chosen carefully. It wasn't every day, after all, that certain Sheikah turned nineteen.

Choosing from the vegetarian section of the menu was new to him, and Zelda had been obliged to give him a few suggestions. Eventually, with Sheik offering his support for Link's new experiment, they had chosen no less than three vegetarian meals and a good selection of side dishes. That way, Zelda explained, Link could try several options and see what he liked the best.

Vegetarianism wasn't too bad, he decided, tucking into a hearty dish of pumpkin stuffed with lentils and vegetables. And, already, he ate vegetarian meals at the apartment a few times a week, thanks to Zelda - what was the removal of a few more meat dishes?

Especially if it meant not hurting animals. The information he had skimmed over on the ARK site - well, even just a brief glimpse was making him think. What would a more thorough understanding result in?

Between the main meal and dessert (and oh, Link was so glad that he didn't have to give that up), Zelda and Link handed their gifts over. Zelda's, unsurprisingly, was a book - she had been consulting with Shiki, apparently, and had found him his own copy of a book on Sheikah poems and songs, updated with several more that the copy he had borrowed hadn't included. The quiet delight on Sheik's face was enough to make Link wonder if his own was inadequate, and he handed the small bundle over with a mildly sheepish expression.

Actually, it had been a few things, all of various values and worth. The first item in the package, parkour wraps, were nothing special, but Sheik still smiled as he set them aside and turned to the next layer of paper. Beneath that was a scarf, a soft white but with the edges carefully embroidered (commissioned. Link _had_ attempted it himself, but, well...) with musical notes in gold and silver, red and blue, the image of a golden harp on each end.

Inside _that_ was a promise for the rest to be delivered when they returned home.

Sheik had smiled at that, and Link knew that he had guessed what it'd be - and that he had guessed wrong. Sex was a nice gift, and Sheik had done precisely that for Link's own birthday two years earlier - but this was something new.

There had been cake, and then there had been a walk home, and Zelda had made herself scarce. And with instructions for Sheik to sit on the bed and close his eyes, Link had quickly prepared his present.

A rented guitar wasn't the best, most intuitive instrument. It wasn't his own, and it wasn't an object of significance. But he could still play on it, and put meaning into his (admittedly amateurish) playing, a careful rendition of Sheik's favourite song that he had taught himself in snatches whenever he hadn't been around.

"Happy birthday," he murmured as he reached the end, leaning in to press his lips against Sheik's. And from the passion that Sheik kissed him back with, perhaps birthday sex wasn't out of the question after all...


	18. Chapter 17

Stepping outside of the apartment and letting her eyes fall shut, Zelda breathed in the fresh, clean early spring air deeply.

Even she had her limits inside, and spending the last six hours immersed in a law assignment was not her favourite way to spend her time. It was the major one, due at the end of semester, an immense project that would make up a good eighty percent of her grades for that class.

(But not one hundred. Even then, participation in class still meant something, apparently, as did the weekly quizzes.)

Still, it was still early in the semester, and now she was taking a well-earned break. The little balcony was a nice spot to get some fresh air even if it was overcast and she waved lazily to a neighbour, doing much the same thing that she was. Evening was approaching, Sheik had been home and then had left only a short while ago to get things for dinner, and Link was due home soon. It would be nice to relax for a night.

Link was happier, she suspected, having found something meaningful to spend his time on (and the vegetarian diet - he had well and truly converted, and was now about to hit his first month - may have been contributing towards that). But then there was the less desirable problems that brought - between two jobs, a volunteer position, and guitar lessons and riding on top of that, he was frequently exhausted. It wasn't uncommon for him to come home after a shift at the Bell, drop his bag, jacket, and shoes in a messy train leading to his room, and collapse next to Sheik, barely bothering to undress (if his dishevelled appearance the next morning was any indication - often, he was still in the clothes he had left for work in).

Still, he wasn't scheduled for tonight. Tonight, for once, they'd all be at home together.

The sound of the key in the front door startled her out of her thoughts, and she glanced back through the back to see Sheik approaching. He looked uncharacteristically grim, arms laden with packages - what in the Sacred _Realm_ was he planning for dinner?

"Help me with this stuff?" he called, and she hurried back inside, shivering at the sudden breeze that had picked up. "There's two more bags in the hall."

"Bags of _what_?" she asked pointedly, ducking out to grab them.

Tinned things? She frowned suddenly, a tin of baked beans in her hand as she returned inside with them. "Sheik, what is all this stuff?"

"Where's Link?" he asked instead, shoving a carton of water bottles against the wall. There was another already there, she noted.

"Not back yet. What's going on?"

Grimly, Sheik straightened up from where he was bent over a bag holding two loaves of bread and a fair quantity of crackers, searching for the radio (they didn't have a television) and switching it on.

Zelda listened, and she felt her blood run cold.

"- run on supermarket supplies, with water expected to be in an unsuitable state to drink for up to a week. Pantry items have virtually disappeared, with the disposal of perishables such as meat and dairy set to cause a greater headache for retailers than any possible damage..."

Turning on her heel, she marched up to Sheik. "Tell me what's going on," she said, voice calm and quiet and deliberate. "Why are people stocking up on food, what will happen to the water, and why will there be damage?"

Silently, he switched radio stations again, this time finding a weather report.

"- approaching from the south west, and we'll have to repeat that warning to avoid the shores of Lake Hylia. Heavy flooding and surges are expected. We're expecting the lake district and Gerudo to be amongst the first hit before Castle City, Lonlon, and Kokiri. Last in the storm's path will be Kakariko, Goro, and Zorai, and we'd like to emphasise that there _is_ the distinct possibility of the storm having grown by then, it's not a minor risk. We're expecting power losses for the entire country if Hyrule Hydroelectric is hit, and we're already starting to see those winds pick up in the north east..."

Instinctively, Zelda glanced outside. The breeze had grown, she noted with some alarm, branches being bent in the wind.

"Storm?" she confirmed softly.

"A big one," Sheik murmured back. "I grabbed some tape and some thick cardboard from the recycling area. Go board up your window."

A storm. Zelda exhaled as she hurried to gather her supplies, suddenly grateful for the lack of expansive windows. The living room would definitely be the biggest problem, though - what did they have for a decent-sized window and a glass door?

Ducking outside once she was done, she grabbed the small collection of potted plants they had out there, noting that the temperature was already beginning to drop as the wind picked up. All down the balconies, there was a flurry of activity - other people boarding their windows shut, discussing things in low, worried voices.

If she glanced to the north east, back in the direction of the mountain, she could see clear skies ahead. But turning south revealed ominous grey, approaching a a speed that was a definite worry. The overcast skies were turning black.

She turned to head back inside, locking the door behind her.

By the time she finished boarding up the window in the boys' room, Sheik had finished with the living room window and was starting on the door. "See if you can find some flashlights. We don't have a battery-powered radio, do we?"

"I don't think so," she frowned as she pulled open the cupboard. Flashlights, flashlights... she found one, recalled that her phone had one built in, and hurried to charge it while they still had power. "What time is this supposed to hit?"

"Two or three hours - oof. There." The glass protected, Sheik jumped down nimbly from the table he had dragged over. "But it's going to start getting really windy - well, now."

Zelda nodded, biting her lip at the quietly frantic expression on his face. Where was Link?

Another fifteen, perhaps twenty minutes passed. Sheik had started brewing coffee, more than he could drink at any one time, and decanting it into their thermoses. Quietly, Zelda thought that it was perhaps a little too optimistic to expect it to stay hot, and instead occupied herself with hastily washing the dishes that had stacked up in the sink, putting her study things away, setting every electronic item she had to charge...

Hopefully, she would get in a good amount before the power died.

Halfway through helping Sheik make dinner (using as many perishables as they could), the door swung open. Sheik immediately dropped the knife he had been using to chop vegetables on the board and almost ran over, pulling Link into his arms.

And then he drew back, catching Link by the shoulders and giving him a little shake. "What kept you?!"

Cringing, Link let the door swing back behind him. "We went down to the shelter - we had to make sure they had enough food and blankets and things, and I don't know how to use the back-up generator so I was trying to do that _and_ keep the animals calm while the others fixed the generator up..." Reaching up to gently detach Sheik's hands from his shoulders, he pulled him into a hug again. "I'm sorry I worried you. I had to make sure the animals would be okay, though."

With a soft sigh, Sheik buried his head against Link's shoulder. "The winds are picking up speed," he told Link, his calm voice just a little bit shaken. "You could have been hit by something."

"I'm sorry," he murmured again, tilting Sheik's face up to kiss him.

Zelda hastily turned away, picking up where Sheik had left off with the vegetables.

They ate. They did the dishes, and then they filled both sinks with water just to be on the safe side. And then they turned to the radio, listening as reports came in, listening as the radio station in Castle City was cut off.

Outside, the winds were howling, rain lashing against the doors and windows.

When the local Kakariko station suffered the same fate as the Castle City station, Link reached out silently, flicking between stations. Static, static, and finally a Zorai station - and then that too died along with the power.

And then all that was left was to ride out the storm, and wait for the world to return to normal.

 

The next morning dawned clear and cold and bright, and Zelda tore off the cardboard on the back door to step outside into a rather wet world.

Here and there were a few broken windows, the cardboard at least presenting glass from spraying inside. Beneath them, on the ground at the entrance, laid debris of all sorts - fallen tree branches, a few roof tiles, other litter that had been picked up and carried along. It was underwater in places, although thankfully not deep - from the exposed parts, she guessed that maybe it was a foot deep at the most.

...Oh. In that case, the foyer and the ground floor apartments probably had flooded, hadn't they.

Still, up on the fourth floor, they were relatively safe. The power still hadn't been restored, though, and that resulted in the hidden curse of the fourth floor - they were out of the water, but four full flights of stairs from the ground.

With a sigh, Zelda returned inside to change into her oldest, sturdiest clothing.

The clean-up would be massive. One of their neighbours, it seemed, did have a battery-powered radio, and back-up power had been returned to at least one station. It was co-ordinating an immense volunteer effort - removing debris, clearing blocked drains, helping to clean Kakariko (and Zorai, and Goron City, and Castle City, and battered Lonlon country, and Gerudo, and poor, half-drowned Lake Hylia) to their original state.

"Watches," Zelda instructed quietly, and they set them with care.

And off they set, ready to help clean up Kakariko. They were to be provided with thick gloves, at least - there was broken glass, splintered wood, and jagged metal amongst the debris, and injury was a distinct possibility. Zelda found herself assigned to the restaurant district, and gamely set about carefully sweeping broken glass from the sodden (but, at least, not flooded) sidewalk. More than once, she had been stopped by a photographer or reporter - the Prime Minister's daughter, volunteering to help restore Hyrule, was apparently a decent story.

By four o'clock, Zelda was aching, so relieved to be allowed to finish up that she nearly hugged her rather surprised supervisor. Out the front of the apartments, she found Link and Sheik again. Like her, Sheik looked exhausted - unlike the other two, Link looked distinctly cagey about something.

The bulge in his coat squirmed and let out a soft, plaintive meow, and Zelda sighed.

It looked like their apartment of three was about to become four... "Come on," she said softly, and they returned inside - soggy, sore, but still alive.


	19. Chapter 18

The kitten, it seemed, did not have a home.

Once the streets were a little clearer, they had taken the little thing to the animal rescue organisation he now volunteered at. There was a shelter associated with it, and they did all the preliminary checks - but there was no collar, no microchip, and no reports of a missing cat fitting its description. From the look of it, Link explained as they returned home, they had suspected he - for it was a he - had been a stray.

Some paperwork, half a week's pay in registration, microchipping, vaccination, and worming fees, and a bag of kitten food and a litter tray later, Link and Sheik were bringing home the fourth member of their household.

Link smiled most of the way back, holding the kitten securely in his jacket (the next priority was a carrier). He was a timid little thing, it seemed, curled up in a ball in the pocket of his hoodie, snug in the layers of fabric and leaving a layer of grey and white fluff over everything. "I feel like a pregnant lady," he joked as he rested one hand protectively over his stomach, and Sheik gave him a fairly alarmed look.

"Please don't get pregnant," he warned him, only half joking.

Link smirked. "If I _could_ , you'd definitely know by now..."

Trying to ignore the rather disturbing images _that_ produced, Sheik picked up the pace, leaving Link chuckling as he continued at his own pace with the kitten.

It would need a name in time, he decided. Something elegant and graceful...

Link let out a startled laugh, and Sheik glanced back to see the fabric around his midsection visibly contorting. "He turned around in my pocket - I think he's upside down..."

Okay, maybe not that elegant and graceful.

Back at the apartment, with Zelda neck-deep in her major assignment, they let the new kitten run free. It was strange watching him, an odd mixture of curiosity tempered by sheer skittishness - the kitten was doing his very best to map every square inch of the place, but still would occasionally sprint across the floor to take shelter under the sofa (where, Sheik learnt, they could see him but not reach him without moving the whole piece).

At Link's suggestion, Sheik invited Shiki over to see their new house mate. Annoyingly, he seemed quite taken with her - or, at least, with her braid, which he would make spectacular leaps for whenever she passed close enough.

"How come he doesn't like me as much as he loves you?" Link complained, dangling a bit of cord from his hoodie to no avail.

"Grow your hair another two feet and try again later," Shiki suggested, flicking him with the end of said braid (and causing the kitten to take a spectacular leap into Link's chest, following the path of his new favourite toy, before practically bouncing off him to snuggle against Shiki again). "Plus, I think this little one is an absolute boob _fiend_. Sheik, ever considered convincing Link to get boob implants?"

Giving a hard stare at the kitten (who was now purring loud enough to be audible from halfway cross the room, kneading at Shiki's chest... rather painfully, if her wincing was any indication), Sheik shook his head. "I quite like him exactly the way he is," he told her sternly, giving Link's thigh a pat.

Link smirked, catching his hand and sliding it a little further. "Exactly the way I am, huh?"

"Not in front of the baby," Sheik scolded as he retracted his hand, glancing at the kitten again.

"Din, you guys are like an old married couple!" Shiki laughed, carefully stretching out on the carpet with the kitten still curled up on her. And then her demeanour turned serious for a moment, pushing herself up again. (The kitten simply gave up at this point, and wandered off to sit on Zelda's homework, much to her dismay.) "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

Link, for a moment, looked perplexed. "About us getting married?"

She snorted, waving a dismissive hand. "Not quite. Although... Sheik, when was the last time you saw your grandmother?"

He stilled a little. "A month ago. Why?"

Wavering for a moment, she sighed, then pushed the words out. "Gran saw her last week. She's really not doing well, and... I think you should take Link to meet her before it's too late."

This time, it was Sheik's turn to waver, glancing uncertainly between his cousin and his boyfriend. "Shiki, she doesn't know I'm gay," he pleaded quietly. "And it would be strange just to bring a 'friend' to meet her. Why do you think I should?"

"Because she loves you." All signs of teasing were gone now, leaving seriousness in its wake. "And because she won't be here for much longer. And - because, seriously, I think she'd want to know that you have someone important."

Sheik let his breath out slowly, glancing at Link. "What do you think?" he asked with a faint, humourless, rather worried smile. "Do you think I should come out?"

Link looked equally concerned, though, equally inexperienced in coming out to family members he barely knew. Aryll had guessed and so had Shiki, and Impa, of course, knew everything. But actually telling someone? That was a new and dangerous realm for the both of them.

"If you don't want to, I won't make you," he said diplomatically, "And if you want to, I won't stop you."

Zelda let out a soft little laugh from the table. "A very legally thorough statement, Link," she teased, resting her chin on the one hand that wasn't busy giving the kitten scritches behind his ears. "Whatever you two decide, I can go with you, if you want."

Moral support would be good, he decided. And at any rate, if Zelda was with him, it wouldn't look quite so much like dragging an unrelated friend over. Maybe she'd even think that Zelda was one of their girlfriends...

If his grandmother was truly dying, then this actually offered a way out. He wouldn't tell her, and risk her ire or her disappointment. He just wouldn't... say anything, never bringing Link to see her, never letting her know about the most important person in his life.

Or, he reasoned with a sigh, he could tell her about the one who made him happy, and hope that she would continue to accept him no matter what.

"Okay," he said, voice quiet and small, and Link reached across to take his hand.

"And next month, when we're in Castle City for my birthday, I'll tell mine," the Hylian added softly, and Sheik squeezed his hand gently.

For better or for worse, within the next month, their families would know.

 

The day they were due to front up at the hospital also happened to fall on Zelda's birthday. At least, this time, there wouldn't be a ball - while Daltus had begged for her to come back and celebrate 'in a way that suited her station', Zelda had calmly told him that she was going to stay in Kakariko, go out with Sheik, Link, Malon, and Shiki, and celebrate with a movie and dinner at a restaurant that was a bit past fast food but was certainly affordable enough on a student budget.

Naturally, he had insisted on sending her a gift via courier - a brand new, top of the line smart phone - and Zelda had accepted it almost grudgingly. After all, her name was lovingly engraved in the back, and she couldn't well send it back even if she did have a perfectly good smart phone already.

Instead, Link was given her old one, replacing the battered one held together with tape that he had had since he was fourteen. He had immediately begun playing with it as soon as her information had been transferred, taking far too much glee in the rudimentary photo editing software. "Look!" he told Sheik enthusiastically, shoving the phone in his face. Sheik blinked and saw himself, edited to include fireworks in the background (or foreground - Link's photo placement wasn't the best), sparkles, and a pair of oversized sunglasses.

The animated dancing cat was kind of amusing, as was the flashing musical notes. But he really wasn't sure about the flashing arrow pointed to his head with a bright pink and purple caption screaming, "SEXY!" on it...

It did lighten the mood. Link had created at least three more graphical... masterpieces on the bus on the way to the hospital.

Once they arrived, at least, Link became all seriousness, reaching for Sheik's hand as they headed to his grandmother's room. She was a very old woman, half blind and frail - what if the shock killed her? He wasn't sure he would be willing to take that risk...

"Oh, she's just in the gardens," the nurse told him gently as he approached the ward. "She's due back in a few minutes, though - why don't you take a seat?"

It was probably the longest few minutes of Sheik's life, sitting in a rickety plastic chair, waiting for his grandmother to return. When the tell-tale squeak of the wheelchair sounded down the hall, though, he was on his feet in a shot, pausing in sheer astonishment when he saw who it was following his grandmother and the nurse down the hall, chatting animatedly as he kept pace on his crutches.

"Groose?" Link asked, sounding a little dismayed, "You're still in hospital?"

"Oh, hey," the redhead said with a grin, with an extra smile at Zelda. "Nah, I'm just an outpatient now. Seriously, you ever break a thigh bone? It takes a fucking long time to heal."

"Language, boy," Sheik's grandmother chided gently. Like a scolded child, he immediately ducked his head.

"Sorry, Grannie." Immediately, Sheik bristled. That was _his_ Grannie! "Hey, uh, see you guys later, huh?" And he turned on one crutch, moving away with a decent amount of speed.

Link gave Sheik a concerned look as they followed his grandmother and her nurse into the room. "It'll be fine," he whispered, immediately making himself useful by gathering chairs. The odd encounter had made him jittery, not quite sure, a little wrong-footed.

Groose had always thrown slurs Link's way, although Link had conceded that he suspected that would stop after the accident. What if he had started again? What if he had influenced his grandmother?

"He's a good boy," Grannie said serenely as she settled back into bed. "He was very down on himself, you know. He needed to find his way - it had gotten lost, you see. He'll still have his part to play."

"His part to play in what?" Link asked curiously, and the woman turned to him, her braid swinging as she stared thoughtfully. Link squirmed in the sudden scrutiny.

Instead, she simply shrugged. "We all have a part to play," she mumbled, almost to herself. "Now, boy, who are you?"

Crunch time. Sheik glanced nervously at the two, then turned back to her. "Grannie, these are Zelda and Link," he said gently. "You remember Zelda from Impa's letters, right?"

She squinted at her, and Zelda gave her a smile back. "I'm Zelda Nohansen," she told her politely, "Impa has been the most wonderful influence - she's practically like a mother to me. My own died when I was four, and..."

Letting out a little shrug, she folded her hands in her lap again, flushed at the outpouring of words.

"The Mister Prime Minister's daughter," Grannie mused, and Zelda nodded once. Satisfied, the old woman nodded in return. "And you, boy. Are you a politician's son as well, like this lass and young Groose?"

Link blinked once, shifting nervously. "No, I'm - not really anyone," he said awkwardly, glancing down at his lap. "I mean, my name is Link. I'm not related to anyone important. I'm Sheik's -"

He hesitated, for a very long moment.

"- friend."

"- boyfriend."

Link cast Sheik a startled look, but Sheik barely took notice of it, heart beating so fast he could hear his pulse in his ears. "He's my boyfriend," he repeated slowly, reaching deliberately for Link's hand. "And he's - very important to me. I wanted you to meet the one that I - that I love."

The hand around his own squeezed tight.

"Oh?" the old woman murmured, sitting up to peer myopically at Link. He held his breath, not letting go of Sheik's hand.

And then she nodded, settling back amongst the pillows. "Good, good. He looks like a fine young lad. You take care of my boy now, you hear?"

There was a lump in Sheik's throat as Link nodded, offering his vow to his grandmother that he'd take care of Sheik to the absolute best of his ability. By the time visitor hours came to a close, he felt to be in a daze.

He had come out to his grandmother. His grandmother had accepted it immediately - indeed, she seemed to adore Link. As they made their way out, ready for a night to celebrate Zelda's birthday, Sheik could not have felt more content.


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Homophobic slurs.

On the morning of his nineteenth birthday, Link awoke to the delicious sensation of being kissed.

"Hmmn," he murmured sleepily, drawing back just enough to give Sheik a sleepy smile. And then, of course, we went back for more, one hand sliding into Sheik's hair.

(It was growing long, he noted somewhat muzzily, even longer than his.)

"Happy birthday," Sheik whispered as they broke apart again, "Also, you have morning breath."

Link laughed softly, stretching and feeling the kinks work out of his back. It had been a decently warm night, approaching the business end of spring, and he was feeling fuzzy and content. That, and he had decided that birthday kisses were the best kisses, morning breath and all. _That_ certainly had never happened in the boarding houses back at Castle City High School...

There were definite perks to adulthood, he thought with a smile as he pushed himself up.

"Thanks," he said with another sleepy smile, "What's the time?"

Sheik swung his legs out of bed, and Link noted that he was already half dressed. "Half past eight. We did let you sleep in as much as we could, but the train leaves at ten..."

And so he should probably get moving. Dislodging the kitten, he clambered out of bed. Where were his pyjama pants? Right, on the floor near the dresser. "That's okay. We can have a nice breakfast."

And a nice breakfast it was indeed. Greeted with a hug from Zelda, she led him to the table where she and Sheik had been working on it - pancakes with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and fresh berries, a bowl of seasonal fresh fruit salad (with plenty left over in the fridge, as he spotted when he went to get a glass of milk), and, as a finishing touch, a single piece of toast - with chocolate syrup making out the words, 'HAPPY B'DAY LINK!'

Chocolate for breakfast. Why couldn't he have a few more birthday breakfasts a year?

"You have chocolate on your mouth," Zelda pointed out as the breakfast began to reach its tail end.

Link grinned sheepishly, licking it off his lips. "Better?"

She nodded once, offering him a smile. "You got it."

Full and content, Link sat back - then sat up again, looking a little puzzled. "Hey - where did Sheik go?" For in his chocolate-induced stupor, he had somehow managed to miss his boyfriend stealing off somewhere.

"In here!" Sheik called from Zelda's room. What was he doing in Zelda's room? Link frowned as Sheik poked his head around the door. "Also, I highly recommend that you go sit on the sofa and close your eyes."

A present? Intrigued, Link stood to do so. "Are you gonna give me a striptease?" he called over his shoulder as he shut his eyes, hiding a grin.

"Not in front of me, he's not!" Zelda retorted, fishing the inquisitive kitten off his lap. "Now, now, Grey, you're very cute, but we need to put a present there..."

Something to be put on his lap... Link bounced a little impatiently, and was rewarded by a kiss on the cheek and a sudden bulky weight being carefully deposited on his legs. "Okay - you can open your eyes."

Link snapped them open, and an enormous smile began making its way across his face. It was a guitar, that much was immediately apparent - acoustic and left-handed, varnished a deep forest green... and the shape. He paused, fingers resting on the hollow in the body. "This... is the one from the shop in Castle City," he realised slowly, shifting it on his lap into a more comfortable position. "Isn't it? The one that was really beat up..."

Sheik nodded, unable to hide the hint of a smile as he settled down on the arm of the sofa. "We saw you looking at it," he murmured, "And when you went to meet your sister, we asked the owner about restoring it. Besides, you deserve a guitar of your own now - you're getting really good."

Smiling serenely, Link positioned his hands, eyes closing as he plucked out one of the songs he had been learning. "It sounds great," he breathed setting it down with exquisite gentleness before leaping to his feet to drag them both into a hug. "Thank you so much!"

As Link hurried off to shower and dress, getting ready to head off to Castle City to see his family and celebrate his birthday, he decided it was going to be a good day.

 

"Happy birthday, big brother!"

Staggering slightly under the weight of a sixteen-year-old girl who had rather suddenly tackled him, Link grinned, giving Aryll a pat on the back. "Nice to see you too," he teased, "I didn't need to breathe at all."

She gave him a grin, the corners of her eyes crinkling in merriment. "Come in. We got you presents and things! What did your friends get you?"

His smile grew at the memory. "A guitar! I saw one I liked last time I was here, and they had it restored and everything for me. It's green!"

"It'll suit you," she declared, tugging him in through the door. "We couldn't afford a whole lot, but... I hope you like them anyway!"

Aryll's present, he discovered as he tore off the paper, was a former possession of hers. It seemed she was rather serious about stargazing as well as birds, and had managed to get a grant for low-income-but-promising students to get a new one. Now, Link held a telescope in his hands, listening in fascination as Aryll explained things like seeing and magnification and the importance of a proper tripod.

The gift from his grandmother and uncle was rather older. A cardboard box, loosely wrapped in paper, was set before him on the floor, and Link sat down to unwrap it. And inside was...

A smaller box, an old, battered envelope, and, beneath it, a patchwork quilt. Link lifted the box and envelope out, then reached in to pluck up the quilt. "A blanket?" he murmured, and Aryll gave him a tentative smile, hugging her stuffed seagull to her chest.

"It was Mum's. Her Gran made it for her, and when she died, they gave it to her sister - our aunt. And when _she_ died, I got it. But I have other stuff from her, so I told Grandma that you can have it."

Link nodded slowly, tracing the patterns on it. A lot of the patches had animals, and he smiled at a fabric covered in images of cats. Here and there, there were florals, and, even more commonly, there were patterns, abstract images, blocks of colour and texture. In each corner were images of space - a sun, a moon, a star, and some glorious-looking ringed planet.

"This is - wow," he murmured, brushing a hand over it gently. "Thanks."

Coming up to summer, the quilt would probably spend a fair amount of time in the closet. But after that... it was definitely going on the sofa, something to snuggle into on cold days watching a movie.

Next was the envelope, and inside was something more precious than a quilt. Instead, it was photos, and Aryll sat and gazed at them curiously as he uncovered each one.

"There's my boy," his grandmother said from behind as he reached an image of a chubby blonde baby, waving his arms at the camera. "Your old Dad. He was such a little one then... such a little one."

Of the photos, Link's favourite was one taken on a visit to some faraway coast. There was no anniversary, no wedding, no birthday for which it had been taken, just a happy young couple, laughing joyfully, hair whipping in the wind. The date on the back showed that it was a little over twenty years old, shortly before he would be born.

The next one made him catch his breath.

It was a picnic, some time in early summer. There sat the happy young couple, the woman with her hand on the very faint bump on her stomach. And in between them...

"There's only a few pictures like that," Aryll said softly from beside him. "Family photos with both of us and Mum and Dad, and I'm barely there. At the end of that summer, Dad was deployed again, and that autumn..." She shrugged uncomfortably, not wanting to bring up their father's death in front of their grandmother. "And I was born in the beginning of winter... well, you know what happened."

Link nodded soberly, gazing at the photo. So that was him? He had found other photos of himself as a baby, but this one - this had Aryll in it too, in a way. A true family photo. Quietly, he tucked it away. "It's a nice photo," he said quietly, then turned his attention to the box.

Here were trinkets, both things that had belonged to their parents and older belongings. A small oval portrait of some stern-looking old man was their great-grandfather on their mother's side, Aryll explained, husband of the woman who had made the quilt. A gold link bracelet had once belonged to their mother's father, and Link examined it curiously.

The rest had belonged to their parents, and Link laid them out with care - a pair of silver cuff links, small blue gems embedded in them, a golden wedding ring (Aryll murmured that she had the other one and the engagement ring, and it was only fair that Link had something too), two little glass figurines, one of a bird in flight, one of a wolfos (missing a tail, it seemed), a pendant that had once been an old coin of some sort, and a handful of military items - dog tags, a few badges, a medal of honour.

It had been awarded posthumously, and Link was quiet as he set them back in the box.

"Thank you," he murmured, reaching over to hug his grandmother and to give his uncle an awkward smile and a handshake.

Family items... just having family was still a new experience. Having these heirlooms solidified that knowledge - he had belonged to people once.

It was a thoughtful Link who retreated to the table, where a modest lunch had been set. Carefully and awkwardly avoiding the meatloaf (and then having to explain his new-found vegetarianism), they tucked in, leaving Link to get them up to speed - his new job (avoiding mention of exactly what sort of bar he was working at), volunteering at the shelter, learning guitar, the events of the storm, Grey the kitten.

On his new phone, he pulled up pictures of Grey (he had only attached shinies to a few of them!), receiving coos from Aryll, smiles from his grandmother, and even a grunt of appreciation from his uncle. He had not brought his new guitar, and so could not give them an impromptu performance, but maybe next time, he could. And, when his grandmother had offered him some of her famous soup, made fresh with chicken stock, Link found himself awkwardly having to explain exactly why he had become vegetarian.

"Sounds like it's for girls and poofs," his uncle muttered, slicing an extra thick layer of meatloaf. And Link winced, the comment hitting rather too close to the mark.

He couldn't exactly retort otherwise, could he? Oh, he knew other vegetarians, thanks to volunteering, that were straight men... but he couldn't count himself as one of them.

"Don't say that," he said stiffly instead, spearing a piece of potato.

Aryll gave him a slightly started look, and his uncle raised his head and an eyebrow. "Why not? That's some girly stuff you've got yourself in to, boy. Don't let 'em convert you, huh?" And he sliced off another piece of meatloaf, dropping it on Link's salad.

Link recoiled slightly from the dead animal now sitting on his plate, fixing his most obstinate expression on his face. "There are straight guys who are vegetarians," he said through gritted teeth, still rankling at the casual slur.

"Not for long!" Spearing another piece, he shoved it in his mouth. "Meat is for real men, salads are for girls and poofs. If you keep it up, you'll be prancing around in no time."

Shoving his plate away, Link stood and balled his hands into fists, ignoring the heat behind his eyes. "You know what?" he said furiously, "Being vegetarian isn't going to turn me gay. Because I've known I was gay since I was twelve and I've been with my boyfriend since we were fifteen and you _don't_ know what you're talking about!"

The loudest silence Link had ever heard rang out through the room.

Letting out a little squeak, Aryll ducked her head, fussing with her salad. The most disappointed look he had ever seen on his grandmother's face temporarily rooted him to the spot. And, across from him, his uncle's face was turning redder and redder...

Turning on his heel, Link marched back to the living room, gathering his presents together and pulling his phone. _Cn u pik me up pls?_ he texted to both Sheik and Zelda, then flopped back against the sofa, utterly defeated.

Barely thirty seconds had passed before he had a reply - _We're on our way_ \- and Link locked the phone again. It had gone so well with Sheik's grandmother. Why had it gone so badly here? Link let his eyes fall shut, refusing to let tears fall.

Five minutes later, a warm body settled at his side, hugging him tentatively. "That didn't really go well, huh?" Aryll said softly, and he opened his eyes to smile weakly at her.

"They probably hate me," he sighed.

She shook her head immediately. "Uncle is a little mad, but I'm going to try to work on him, okay? And Grandma is..." With a sigh, she dropped her head to his shoulder again. "It's weird for her. We're her only chance for great-grandkids and to basically... continue the family, and I guess she's worried that now she has less chance."

"So no pressure?" he joked feebly, letting his head fall back. "I guess it wouldn't really help if I said that I found out that stuff about being vegetarian at the gay bar I work at, huh."

"I think Uncle would explode," she said solemnly, then shook her head, letting out a soft giggle. "It might be funny to see his reaction - but you don't have to." The last bit was added hastily, peering into his face worriedly.

He smiled back weakly. "One shock at a time, huh? I'll get out of your hair soon, and he can think about it - I texted my friends to pick me up."

"Okay." She gave him another brief hug, then sat up. "Can I go out with you? We can go get proper cake and everything! Grandma's really good at soup, but her cakes are... I was trying to work out a way how to tell you not to eat it..."

A slightly more genuine smile crossed his face. "Yeah - I'd like that. We can drop you back afterwards." He paused. "Although I probably won't come in."

"That's okay!" Settling down at his side, she reached for her seagull, gave it a quick hug, then handed it to Link. "I'll help clean. Let me know when they're here, huh?"

Link could only smile back weakly, hugging the stuffed seagull to his chest as Aryll departed. At least there was the promise of cake with his true family ahead - maybe, he decided, this day would be salvageable after all.


	21. Chapter 20

Ever since the disastrous birthday party in Castle City, Link had been in a funk. Two days later found him listless, his mother's old quilt wrapped around his shoulders, the family photo of himself and his parents and the yet-unborn Aryll in his hands. He was taking this awfully hard, Zelda thought, biting her lip.

Sheik was still at class, and so he was no help now. So with a sigh, she put down her textbook and went to join him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Rupee for your thoughts?"

Link glanced at her, smiling weakly. "They're not very interesting."

"Try me," she said gamely, giving his shoulder a little squeeze. "Are you still thinking about your family?"

He smiled, or, at least, his lips thinned. "I guess I am," he muttered, and let his head fall back. "Just - it's so stupid."

"They might - change their minds in time," she suggested tentatively - she and Sheik had arrived just in time to hear Link's uncle say he couldn't expect a warm welcome the next time he visited. Aryll, at least, was supportive, and she had vowed to go out and meet him where ever he wanted whenever he was in Castle City. But his uncle, and his quietly disappointed grandmother...

Almost savagely, he bit down on his lip. "You don't know what it's _like_ ," he told her, voice strained.

"What what is like?" It was a gentle prompt, and at first, she thought Link wasn't going to take her up on it.

"Not having a family," he finally said softly, his eyes slipping shut. "I don't remember them at all - the first things I remember are being in the Home. And that's..." He shrugged a little, eyes still closed, pulling a face. "Bo was nice, and Ilia tried to treat me like a brother, but she had a real Dad and Bo was nice to everyone. And Rusl and Uli were always really good, but then they had Colin and I guess I wasn't good enough any more." He let out a laugh, soft and bitter.

Zelda said nothing. This was an area she could have researched until the sun went cold and would still never understand.

"I had Saria," he continued, "And we were each other's family, then that fucking car came out of nowhere..." Tiredly, he reached up to scrub at his eyes. "And I got older and older and Rusl and Uli had Colin and Saria died and the other kids started getting adopted, but no one wanted me, and - even the school we went to at first had a whole lot of us and that was okay, but the high school was really big and there were less of us and people didn't like me and -"

He cut himself off, peering up at her with sad blue eyes. "When I met you and Sheik - you became my family. And then Aryll was there, and I thought I finally knew where I came from, and -" Link tightened the blanket around his shoulders and sighed.

"And?" Zelda prompted gently, reaching out to take his hand.

"I didn't have anyone, but then I finally had family. I knew where I came from," he muttered, staring at the patterned quilt wrapped around him. "And now they don't want me any more."

And he fell quiet again, bangs hiding his face from view, shoulders hunched. So woebegone did he look that Zelda pulled him into a proper hug, guiding his head to rest on her shoulder, stroking one hand through his hair reassuringly.

"I don't know what that's like," she agreed softly, voice wobbling a little, "But I'm sorry." Yes, she had lost her mother, but she had been four at the time, and still held a few precious memories. Her father, no matter how at odds they got, had always been there. She had always known her heritage and she had always known that there would be a place to return to.

And not even Sheik, an orphan as well, could see things the same way either. He had lost his parents at ten, and he had had Impa ever since. He had a cousin and a grandmother who both adored and accepted him. He, too, had always had continuity, family, and a place to belong to.

Who did Link have?

"I think," she continued, fighting to keep her voice steady, "That you need to make your own definition of family. I'm family now, and so is Sheik. You have Aryll. And you still talk to Rusl, right? Just because he has Colin doesn't mean he thinks any less of you. I've seen you two together - he treats you like a son."

"But not a _real_ son," Link said slowly. "I'm no one's first choice."

"You're Sheik's," she said, and she knew even as she said it that it was completely true. "He will put you beyond anyone, even Impa, I think. And Aryll - you're her only brother. Nothing can ever replace that. Ilia - she still sees you as a brother as well. And," she added, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "Your uncle and grandmother may come to see sense in time. You can't rule that out, Link."

He gave her a shaky smile. "I guess not, huh?" Sighing, he turned to give her a quick hug. "Thanks, Zel. It's nice having three sisters."

She grinned at that, hugging back. "It's nice having two brothers, too," she smiled, then paused. "Wait, if I see both you and Sheik as my brothers, that makes you and Sheik -"

"Don't say that!" he said with a weak laugh, "I have a weird enough perception of family as it is, okay?"

Zelda chuckled, glad that he could at least joke around about it. "Being normal is overrated," she said sagely, and, untangling herself, stood to head to the table again. "Are you working tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll leave around half past five." That gave him three hours, and she nodded as she nudged her computer awake.

"Okay. Want to go and get an early -" Zelda trailed off as her inbox loaded, clicking the one marked 'A hasty answer needed!'. Normally, she would dismiss it as spam - but it was from Shad, one of her old tutors back in Castle City, a student of history himself, and a regular participant in activities based in Kakariko. The body itself did not give much more information, leaving only intriguing snippets:

_My dear Zelda,_ it began, Shad always having been a rather formal sort.

_I dearly hope my missive finds you well! I am writing to make you aware of of an opportunity that has come up recently - just today, in fact! We've been given the chance to do a dig in a little-explored area of Hyrule, replete with ruins and artefacts. Would you be interested in this potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Please let me know at the earliest convenience._

_Yours in history,_

_Shad_

For a moment, Zelda simply stared.

The chance to go on a dig? Ruins, artefacts, and potentially the chance to discover things that no one had ever seen before? Moving so fast she almost deleted the email instead of replying to it, she tapped in the quickest reply she had ever written.

_I am very interested! What are the details?_

_Zelda_

If she had been the type, there possibly would have been a few more exclamation marks there. A wide, dazed grin was fixed on her face - she could be going on her very first dig!

"Zelda?" Link called again patiently, and she abruptly realised that she had rather ignored him. "What's the matter?"

"I might be going on a dig!" she told Link almost explosively, jumping to her feet and doing a brief little dance. "In an unexplored area - there's ruins, there's objects, I might be able to actually _discover_ something, Link! If this is big enough - I might even get my name on a research paper!"

The sheer thought of that was enough to make her stop dancing, eyes going wide at the idea. "Zelda Nohansen, historian," she whispered, then grabbed Link's hands and dragged him in an ecstatic circle. It felt like she was dancing on clouds, giddy with the prospect of the old and unknown, of being the first to unearth hidden secrets in a very long time. "Link, this will be amazing!"

"What will be amazing?" Sheik asked curiously, closing the door behind him. Grey, sleeping on Link's bag nearby, trotted over to rub against his legs in a sleepy greeting, and Sheik stooped to scoop the kitten up.

"I've been invited on a proper dig!" Zelda explained, giving a most inelegant little whoop. "It's a really unexplored area, and we could be making discoveries. Real discoveries that'll get research papers written about them, Sheik!"

Setting his own bag down and shifting his shoes off, Sheik wandered over to join them, careful not to dislodge Grey (who seemed to not care at all, scrambling up his chest, over his shoulder, and launching himself off into the air to trot to his food bowl). "That's great," he told her warmly, joining in the group hug. "When is it?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said, smiling blissfully. "Shad only just emailed me after finding out today - I asked him for more information. Let me see if he's sent it!"

He hadn't yet, and so Zelda resumed waiting (and, just for a bit, celebrating). She would have to wear old clothes, she decided, probably the sturdy (and now thoroughly muddy) set she had worn during the storm clean-up. And then there were the jeans and t-shirts from a couple of years ago, during the Tetra experiment... Shoes would be an issue, but she was sure she could get a nice sturdy pair of boots for tromping around on a dig site.

Would they have internet access, where ever they were going? Reliable power? She would have to give serious thought on whether she could bring her laptop, or if her phone would be it. Surely they had to have power?

A new email appeared in her inbox. Excitedly, she loaded it - then let out a heaving sigh when she realised it was only one of the petition sites she had signed up for.

Finally, finally, she had a reply from Shad, though, and she sat herself down to read from it excitedly. "It's a week-long dig," she told the boys, eyes bright and grinning widely. "Near the end of semester. It's actually the main field trip for one of the classes, but I got an invitation because of all the clubs and societies... it's in - oh. It's in the far north east, sort of in between Kakariko and Zorai, but closer to the border. That's a pretty wild area! And there's dates and costs and a map in the attached PDF..."

She clicked it, smiling dreamily as it loaded. Kakariko and Zorai... well, she knew there was a well-explored pass in between the two regions, cutting through the foothills. But this, it seemed, was beyond even Kakariko Pass, traversing wildernesses, deep in the mountains.

The PDF loaded. And Zelda's smile began to falter.

"Uh oh," Link murmured as he caught sight of her expression. "Zelda? What's the matter?"

Zelda simply gazed at the dates blankly. She knew those dates. They were marked in her calendar, highlighted in yellow and orange and blue. Assignments, exams - she kept herself well-organised, knowing exactly when every due date was, when every exam had been scheduled.

"It's - week sixteen," she said softly, and her voice cracked hard. Absurdly, she felt close to tears.

Week sixteen, the last week of the semester. During week sixteen, her major assignment for one of her law classes would be due - the monster assignment worth eighty percent of her grade, the one that for which failure meant the potential end of her degree. During week sixteen, exams began - exams that would have to be sat, exams that couldn't be rescheduled for anything short of a medical emergency.

During week sixteen, people lucky enough to study her passion would be exploring a new area for the first time.

And she would not be there.

Quietly, almost calmly, she replied with a short, succinct explanation of clashes, then deleted the email. And then she shut down the computer, rose to her feet, and deliberately, almost stiffly, walked to her room.

Law could no longer hold any sort of appeal for her. Not when it prevented her from living out her dreams. She had to do something - and she had to do something before her father's choices destroyed all chances of following her own path... forever.


	22. Chapter 21

The first year of university was ending under trying circumstances. Zelda was despondent over being forced to either miss a dig she desperately wanted to go on, or fail almost every subject in one fell swoop. Link was stuck in a couple of jobs he felt no real passion towards, and the one thing he did enjoy did not pay. There was also the recent conflict with his family to be considered, and Sheik felt almost guilty for the good relationship he had with his aunt, his cousin, and his grandmother.

And, too, he felt just the slightest tinge of guilt for having no real conflict with his academic path. Music suited him, and he was excelling in composition and performance. He was not only good at it, but he enjoyed it greatly, spending blissful afternoons practising, bearing the blisters on his fingers with good humour.

And, so one of his lecturers had informed him, he was amongst the handful doing the degree that was being recommended for trying out for the Kakariko Symphony Orchestra.

Kakariko Symphony Orchestra! Each of the regions had their own, and while it wasn't quite the national symphony, the idea suited him. He could stay in the city while Zelda worked out what degree she wanted to do and while Link worked out what he wanted to do, period, continuing his studies all the while.

And even a regional symphony was a great way to get into the national one.

Within a day or two, he'd learn if he had been granted an audition. For now, though, he was relaxing with a book and a cup of tea, a rare indulgence compared to research and homework and coffee. (Oh, the latter certainly remained his drink of choice - but thanks to Impa, he certainly had come to appreciate a nice cup of tea.) Next to him on the sofa, or, rather, partially on top of him, Link napped, his head using Sheik's lap as a pillow, Grey the kitten snuggled up on his chest. Zelda had ventured away from the table for once, researching something on her laptop in the armchair next to them, and soft classical music emitted from her laptop speakers.

Almost without conscious thought, Sheik realised he was picking apart the melodies, and shook his head with a brief little smile.

"What're you researching?" he said quietly to Zelda, mindful of his sleeping boyfriend.

Silently, Zelda turned the laptop around for him, and his eyebrows raised. It was the University of Kakariko's website - specifically, it was the course catalogue, featuring the study guide for the Bachelor of Arts. She had it open to the Ancient History major.

"Zelda," he said softly, "You're going to just upset yourself if you keep reading that sort of thing -"

"I'm not upsetting myself," she said calmly with a shake of her head. "I'm making sure I know what I'm talking about, that I have all my ducks in a row. I want to be able to make a convincing argument."

Sheik's brow furrowed a little. "A convincing argument for what?"

She let out her breath slowly, calm and deliberate and measured. "I'm going to finish my assignments. I'm going to take my exams. I won't go on the dig. Then, once I have my results for the semester..." And she drew in another breath. "When I have them, I'm going to go to Dad and tell him I'm transferring to study history."

Sheik blinked.

"He won't be happy," he cautioned, and Zelda sighed, brushing her hair out of the way as she sat back in the old armchair.

There was an expression on her face that he knew almost intimately, and he knew immediately that it would be no good trying to dissuade her. Zelda had made up her mind, and there was generally no stopping her once she did. It was somewhat akin to trying to convince the birds not to sing, or fish not to swim, or Grey not to attack his pant leg - a spectacularly futile endeavour with only the faintest hints of success.

Zelda's jaw was set, her mouth closed in a firm line, her chin lifted a little. "He won't be happy with me at all," she murmured, showing Sheik another of the tabs she had open.

He peered at it, then frowned. It was a news article - Prime Minister Nohansen, once again proving to be amazingly popular with people who didn't tend to like people like the three of them very much. "He's supporting the marriage definition bill?" he sighed.

She nodded, and there was a hard, blazing light in her eye. "When I was little, I didn't understand exactly what his policies were doing. Now I do. And I'm an adult now - I think it's time I told him where I really stand." The faintest hint of uncertainly shifted her expression for a moment, then slipped away again. "I won't tell him about Midna, since that could actually cause a small diplomatic incident, but..."

Sheik nodded with a faint wince - Midna was in training to become the leader of Twila, and Daltus Nohansen, as Prime Minister of Hyrule, would be dealing with her as a political equal, in time. If he had learnt that she had once been intimately involved with his only daughter...

Well. 'Diplomatic incident' was probably putting it kindly.

"But you'll tell him about yourself?" he confirmed softly, and she nodded.

"He'll probably blame you for corrupting me," she snorted, and her expression softened as her gaze slid over him and Link. "Do you ever want to marry him?"

What a way to be put on the spot. Sheik blinked twice, then settled for a shrug. "It - Zelda, we're nineteen -" he pointed out, voice a little strained. "Let's not think about that until we're at least twenty, alright?"

"I would," murmured a sleepy lump in Sheik's lap, and Sheik smiled despite himself.

Would he want to spend the rest of his life with Link? So far, all signs pointed to yes.

"But," Zelda continued, eyes closing, "I'll tell him. I'll tell him his only offspring is queer, is going to study history instead of law, and that, oh yes, I'm politically on the opposite side of the spectrum. I won't lie any more."

Sheik gave her a faint smile. "Good luck," he murmured, and he wished it sincerely.

Perhaps it was time for Daltus to realise that his daughter was her own person.

 

The simultaneous advantage and curse of smart phones, Sheik decided, was instant access to email. On the plus side, he would know instantly if and when the email about auditions came in...

On the downside, he could not stop checking it.

They had gone out, the skies clear and the temperature gloriously warm, and Link had decided they needed some fresh air. So now they sat at a cafe, Sheik already on his second coffee, passing time until the email came in.

Or, at least, passing time until Link frowned, rising from his seat. "Hang on a moment," he murmured, venturing into the back part of the cafe where Sheik could see a lone figure sitting.

Wait, was that...?

It was. A brief conversation later, and Link was returning, a sheepish-looking Groose on his crutches in tow. "Hi, guys," he said, ducking his head and looking rather embarrassed about the whole thing.

"He was sitting on his own," Link shrugged, deliberately casual, sitting again. "And we might as well share a table, huh?"

Zelda looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded once, gesturing to the chair between herself and Link. "Sit down," she invited, and the redhead did so gratefully.

It didn't take long for the subject to turn to academics, and Link almost visibly tuned out, twisting his napkin into various shapes (and then starting on Sheik's). Like Link, it seemed, Groose hadn't done particularly well in the first semester, failing two of his four subject. After such a bad break to his leg in the final weeks, though, he simply hadn't bothered re-enrolling for the current semester, and had found himself somewhat at a loss.

"So I don't wanna go back and do science," he explained, fidgeting with the glass of water in his hands. "I mean, I guess it's okay for some people, but it's not really right for me. Grannie kept tellin' me to work out what I _do_ wanna do."

(Again, Sheik quietly bristled.)

"What do you want to do?" Link asked curiously, "Something with horses?"

"Nah, that's just a hobby." Groose sat back, running a hand over his hair. "But I like fixing and making things a whole lot. So... I'm gonna try mechanical engineering."

Groose as an engineer? Sheik considered for a moment, then nodded once. He could certainly picture him hitting things with a wrench, at least...

No, that was probably an uncharitable thought.

"I'm changing courses too," Zelda said suddenly, smiling in an embarrassed way. "From law to history. I don't think my father will be very pleased, but..." She shrugged. "If you're unhappy in what you're doing, and you have the means to change it, you should."

"Yeah," Groose echoed. "I got the marks at school to do engineering. If I _can_ do it, I should, huh?"

She nodded emphatically, and Sheik watched the little exchange with some curiosity. Had Zelda and Groose... just bonded?

"He's not going to be happy with me at all," she added with a little sigh, "And not just for that. Groose, what are your political beliefs?"

He looked cagey, and Sheik could guess why - it wasn't a good idea to advertise your own views when your family was in politics, and prominently so. "I... have 'em," he muttered, a non-answer. Zelda nodded.

"So do I," she said gently, "And they don't exactly fall within the party line."

"And you're gonna tell him that?" He sounded terribly dubious about the idea. Sheik didn't blame him - Defence Minister Ganondorf Dragmire was a formidable and mildly terrifying politician. He could only imagine what he was like as a father. "D'you want -" And he cut himself off, shaking his head.

"Do I want what?" Zelda asked curiously, and even Link glanced up from his napkin origami.

Groose shrugged, a little discomforted. "Well, uh, I know what it's like standing up to Dads like that," he muttered. "I could help, if you wanna."

Sheik and Link swapped a glance, Sheik frowning, Link looking puzzled before shrugging minutely. Zelda, for her part, was silent, gazing at Groose as if she had never seen him before.

Indeed, she barely had. This was a Groose with his barriers and pretensions stripped down, a person and not just a bully.

"I'd appreciate it," she murmured, then raised her voice a little. "All of you."

And Sheik nodded, nudging Link's knee with his own under the table. "We'll be there for you, Zel," he vowed, and for the first time in days, she looked relieved.

Halfway through the next round of coffees, Sheik's phone beeped, and he scrambled for it with such indecent haste that he nearly dropped it. For what felt like an eternity, the email loaded - and then he deflated with an audible sigh. "Spam," he muttered, deleting it viciously.

Zelda knew what she was doing. What would he do, if he couldn't even get an audition?

As the afternoon pressed on and they departed, there still had been no word. It wasn't until they had nearly reached home again that it beeped again, and Sheik stopped short, heedless of Zelda and Link crossing the street ahead of him.

A slow smile spread across his face. Now that was the news he wanted to hear - an audition, and all he had to do was choose one of the times and places.

"Sheik?" Link called curiously from across the road, "Did you get it?"

"I did," he answered with something that was almost a beam for the reserved Sheikah, jogging out to show him the email and the good news.

And that was when the car came out of nowhere, a dizzying blur of motion, an impact he heard more than felt, his phone skittering out of his hand, the sky above wheeling and twisting and slowly going black.


	23. Chapter 22

_Link is ten, and Saria is dead._

_He's in her tree house, crying. His best friend is gone, and he's all alone - except for Ilia, and she's still little. Right now, Ilia is getting a hug from her dad, and for once, Link wishes he had a dad to give him a hug, too._

_He chants stupid, stupid, stupid over and over, although he doesn't know if he means himself for not being able to help, or Saria for trying to get to her sacred forest meadow without a grown up, or the driver of the car that hit her._

_He has photos of her. And in a few years, he'll be older and won't look like the photos any more, and she'll still look the same. A child forever._

_He misses her._

_Link is ten, and the man at the funeral home says softly that she looks like she's sleeping._

_She's wearing a dress that he's never seen before, white with a blue sash, and he wants to yell and protest and say that it should be green. There are too many flowers - she needs plants, green fronds and leaves, ferns spilling out of their containers. This is not a forest. This is not her place._

_And she doesn't look like she's sleeping, she looks like a statue. Her hair is brushed pin straight and her face looks like wax, and he stares at her for a moment in her little white box then turns and runs, runs and hides and buries himself under a table and draws his legs up to his chest._

_She's not sleeping._

_Link is ten, and the hospital is loud and hurts his head._

_Everywhere there is buzzing, mechanical sounds, people shouting. It smells like soap and something that makes his nose prickle and makes him want to sneeze, but he can't because he'll ruin Miss Uli's shirt._

_He asks, when can I see Saria? When will she be better? And Uli doesn't answer._

_The doctor with the serious face comes out and looks at Link, and he asks Miss Uli to talk without him._

_And then they come back, and Miss Uli picks him up like one of the little ones, and she says, Saria is gone._

_Link is ten, and he's on his knees in the street, and there's gravel digging into his skin, and he's reaching for Saria's hand, and the man in the car is apologising and the woman in the car is running to the nearest house._

_She's very still._

_Link is ten, and Saria runs out into the street, her eyes bright as she makes for her forest meadow._

_And the car comes out of nowhere._

The car came out of nowhere, and Link felt his world end.

" _Sheik!_ " Barely even aware of his own scream, barely even aware of the other cars, he sprinted to his side, dropping to his knees and ignoring the way gravel dug into his skin. His heart pounding so fast it was a roar in his ears, he reached for Sheik's hand, frantically searching for a pulse.

There - weak, thready, but still there. Link fumbled for his phone, dropped it, scrabbled for it again with blurred vision, and was stopped by a hand on his - Zelda's, her own phone already in her hand.

"I've got it," she choked, and Link nodded distractedly as he turned back to Sheik.

His heart was beating, and there was a slow, laboured rise and fall of his chest. But there was blood in his hair, and one of his legs was twisted at an angle that just didn't look right - Link recalled Groose's shattered femur and the months of rehabilitation it had taken him, and he felt his mouth run dry.

It was bad. Even if he survived, it could be bad. And there was so much blood in his hair, and he was unconscious - what had happened to him? Had he cracked his head open? Link found himself almost too afraid to look.

The traffic had stopped, now. Someone else, not the one who had hit him, had stopped his car and ensured that he would be safe, and Link gave him a watery smile as he glanced up from Sheik's body. "Where's the driver?" he asked numbly, and the other could only shrug helplessly.

A hit and run. A hit and run, and the end result was Sheik, covered in blood, pale and unconscious at his feet.

For a moment, Link couldn't breathe.

"Link?" Zelda whispered, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "The ambulance is coming. It'll be okay. They'll take him to hospital."

_"Kid? The ambulance is coming. It'll be okay. They'll patch her up."_

Saria had been taken away in the ambulance. And he had never seen her again.

His last meal rose in his throat, and Link clamped it down by sheer force. He couldn't leave Sheik's side. He would be strong for him, and he wouldn't leave him, and this time, this time, it would be different.

Wouldn't it?

Link reached out and wrapped his hand around Sheik's. And there he stayed until the ambulance arrived, following instructions numbly, given leave to ride with him to the hospital. He barely heard Zelda's quiet voice, saying she'd meet them there, and he found himself shunted to the front passenger seat.

He twisted around, gazing blankly at the paramedics surround Sheik's prone body, then slumped back in the seat, focusing on trying to remember how to breathe again.

But how could he, with Sheik lying back there, pale and still?

They were separated at the waiting room, and Link gazed after where Sheik had been wheeled away on his bed for a long, long time. He remembered another hospital, another special person wheeled away, a shock of green and red against white, and, slowly, he sank to the ground where he stood.

"Would you like a seat, sir?" a nurse murmured, setting a hand on his shoulder. Numbly, Link let her help him stand, leading him to a row of seats. Immediately, he drew his legs up to his chest, ignoring the way his boots left dirty marks on the edge of the chair.

She tsked sympathetically, patting his shoulder and leaving him on his own. Soon after, Zelda arrived, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and resting her head to his shoulder.

She asked nothing of him, and he volunteered no answers, his mind feeling blank and white and empty.

What if he died? What if, like Saria, he lost someone else? When Zelda had asked Sheik about marriage, he had murmured his assent without even thinking about it - if Sheik lost his life just as he realised he wanted to spend his with him, it would be too much to bear.

Zelda brushed her thumb beneath his eye, and Link blinked slowly when he realised that her skin had come away damp.

"He'll be okay," she whispered, reaching for his hand and squeezing it tightly. But her hand was shaking, too - she also held her doubts.

"Heard that before," he muttered, and his voice cracked as he stared at his knees. "And she died."

Zelda remained silent, letting him continue in his own time.

Bitterly, he choked out a laugh. "It's like history repeating itself. It was the same thing. She was excited about where she was going, she ran out into the road, she got hit, she got taken to hospital. And then the doctor came out and he said that Saria, my big sister, my best friend, was dead. She had -" His voice cracked, hard. "Head injuries and internal injuries, a-and he had blood in his hair and you can't _see_ internal injuries a-and..."

This time, he reached up to wipe at his eyes himself, voice strangled by the lump in his throat, the weight that had settled in his chest. He struggled to keep breathing.

"I can't lose him," he whispered, and Zelda turned fully, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against the crook of his neck.

"He'll be okay," she repeated again, "He will, he'll recover - Sheik is strong, he's bigger than she was - Link, he'll be okay, won't he?"

Was she trying to reassure him or herself? Either way, he couldn't bring himself to care, trying to stifle his tears. He had to be strong for Zelda, too - he couldn't let himself break down sobbing in a hospital waiting room.

No matter how much he wanted to.

By the time darkness fell, they still had received no word. Impa had arrived by now, having jumped in the car the instant she had got the phone call, and was having a few stern words with the receptionist - she wanted answers on her nephew, and she wanted them now.

"It must be scary for her too," Zelda murmured, and Link nodded slowly. Sheik's parents had died nine years ago in a car accident as well, and even if it wasn't quite the same as being hit as a pedestrian, the thought that she could lose her sister and then her nephew in almost the same way would hurt.

And for him, losing a sister then a boyfriend, a best friend, a lover, almost a soul mate... well, he had an idea what she felt like.

But Impa's agitating had, at least, done something. The doctors didn't seem willing to give information to a couple of unrelated kids, but Impa was Sheik's legal guardian, and aunts were a higher priority than boyfriends, it seemed. When the doctor approached, she beckoned the two of them over quickly, and Link almost ran over.

"- keep him in for observation, since we do want to keep an eye on that concussion. But, otherwise, he shouldn't be in for too long."

"What happened?" Link asked almost breathlessly.

The doctor glanced at his tear-streaked, blotchy face, and, upon getting a nod of confirmation from Impa, explained. "Well, your friend will be sore but shouldn't be too badly off. The main injury is a concussion - since it lead to a loss of consciousness, we want to keep him in for observation, but it's not immediately life-threatening."

Link almost sagged where he stood, a wave of relief so powerful that his knees almost buckled crashing over him.

"- from that, he has bruised ribs with one cracked, a broken collar bone, and a fractured ankle, which has since been set. And there's some nasty-looking contusions and abrasions, but those should heal up nicely."

Zelda hesitated, then, cautiously, spoke up. "He - Impa, he didn't get to tell you, he only just got the email when it -" She paused, shaking her head. "He managed to get an audition to play the harp with Kakariko Symphony Orchestra, and - this means the _world_ to him. When would he be able to play?"

The doctor paused, then shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know much about harps. He should have fairly normal movement within four to six weeks, but every patient has different tolerances during the healing process. I certainly wouldn't recommend vigorous movements."

Well, it wasn't completely horrible news, Link decided with a little sigh, but Sheik would have to check with his music teacher as soon as he could. "Okay. When can we see him?"

The doctor chuckled a little. "You can go check on him now, if you'd like. Visitors hours _are_ technically over, but..."

He took his leave to see if Sheik was ready to receive visitors, and Link let his breath out, eyes closing as the tension drained out of his body. Sheik was okay. He could see him soon. He had healing ahead, but he _would_ heal.

As one of the nurses lead them to Sheik's room, Link felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.


	24. Chapter 23

Sheik's rehabilitation was taking place at a speed that was a little astonishing.

It was amazing what a little motivation could do, Zelda mused as she strode down the hospital corridor to meet with him. With obvious extenuating circumstances, Sheik had been permitted to push his audition back to the very tail end of the selection process, three weeks away.

In the two weeks since the accident, then, he had put every available effort into healing as quickly as possible.

It was with some surprise that she found two boys exiting the physical rehabilitation centre, then, instead of one. Groose was finally off his crutches, just in time for Sheik to get them instead - or, at least, once his collar bone healed enough to actually use them. For now, he was wheelchair-bound, and there was no end to his frustration over them.

What was more of a surprise was to see them chatting like old friends.

Upon spotting her, though, the conversation stopped, and Sheik waved with his good arm. "Hey. Having a good afternoon?"

"I am," she said with a quick smile, glancing curiously at Groose. He grinned back bashfully, ducking his head a little. "Groose, you're still doing this?"

He shrugged. "It's my last session next week," he explained, shifting weight to his other leg. "Takes a really long time to heal femurs, right? More than just wimpy collar bones." He punched Sheik in his non-injured shoulder good-naturedly, and Sheik shoved back with a brief smile.

"You're rubbing it in," he pointed out lightly, "Don't you have to meet with - Gonzo, or whatever it was?"

"Al _fon_ zo," Groose corrected, "And that Ferrus kid. They do all the engineering stuff at the uni."

Zelda was starting to feel a little left out, ignored in favour of the boys bantering amongst each other. "So you'll definitely be going for it?" she ventured, and Groose nodded, bright red pompadour bobbing like a slightly demented sea buoy.

"You better believe it," he grinned, and Zelda smiled back tentatively.

"Well - I'm going to tell Dad on the weekend," she said, making a snap decision that managed to surprise even her. "Ah - Sheik, I never asked, would you be able to come...?"

He shrugged with one shoulder. "I don't know," he said dubiously, "I'll have to ask..."

Then she wouldn't have some of her moral support. With a little sigh, she nodded, wondering if she could convince her father to come down to Kakariko under some political pretense.

Or, alternatively, just to visit his only offspring. Wouldn't that be good publicity for a family man such as him?

(Abruptly, Zelda wondered when she had become so cynical.)

Glancing between the two of them, Groose frowned to himself, then gave them both a grin. "Well, I gotta go. See ya next week, Sheik." And he gave Zelda a smile, less cocky and more at an attempt at being suave where even his own heart wasn't in it. "Bye, Zelda."

And off he hurried, still moving carefully, but at least free of the crutches.

Zelda let out a thoughtful hum, reaching for the handles of Sheik's wheelchair. "Where do you want to go?" she asked him, "We can go to the gardens or the library or the cafe...?"

"Back to my room, I think," he murmured, sitting back a little and reaching up to rub gently at his shoulder with a wince. "That was pretty tiring."

And back to his room it was, then. Only getting lost once, they finally made it back only to find a serious-looking nurse exiting his room. "Ah, Sheik," she said as gently as she could, looking a little apprehensive. "We were looking for you."

"Is something the matter?" he asked curiously, glancing past her into his room - was there something waiting for him there?

She hesitated, then continued, quietly, "It's about your grandmother."

Zelda's breath caught. Sheik's grandmother had been on her last legs for the past few weeks, and while Sheik had visited her often, the last time had been yesterday. He hadn't had the chance to visit today yet, hadn't seen her at all...

Sheik slumped down in the wheelchair a little. "She's gone," he guessed quietly, "Isn't she?"

The brief nod was all he needed. "I'm sorry. We've called your aunt and went looking for you, but you were still in session..."

He nodded, looking a little numb. "It's okay. Was she -" Conflict showed on his face briefly, warring with himself. "Was it peaceful?"

"She went painlessly in her sleep," the nurse murmured, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to wait for your aunt?"

He nodded, and the nurse helped him back into bed. (It was a particularly aggravating combination of injuries - with his collar bone broken, he couldn't use his arms and crutches to compensate for the broken ankle, and with his ankle broken, he couldn't walk around even if his arm was in a sling.) "Thanks," he murmured, and the nurse nodded before leaving the two on their own.

Sheik slumped back against the pillows with a sigh. "I can't say I'm surprised," he said softly, "Groose said he visited her this morning, and she was pretty out of it."

"At least it was peaceful," Zelda murmured, reaching for his good hand and giving it a squeeze. "That's something, right?"

"Yeah." The faintest of smiles crossed his face, small and sad. "We'll have to tell Link when he arrives. And Groose - I know they got pretty close."

"You seemed pretty friendly yourself," she pointed out.

He shrugged, ducking his head. "Yeah, it's - I don't know, he's not so bad. I think he's really insecure. Link said he was doing really badly at uni because he was in the wrong field of study and didn't have many friends." He gave her another sidelong glance, then murmured, "He quite likes you, you know. And he's got the idea that toning down the sleaziness might be wise."

"Glad to hear it," Zelda said with a weak smile. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of the redhead - he had always been somewhat unpleasant and smarmy. But Link got on fine with him, and Sheik, and Sheik's grandmother... "We'll have to work on 'friends' before anything else."

Sheik nodded, giving her an entirely understanding smile. "It's perfectly fine. You're not obligated to be friends with him, at any rate. You should do what you feel is best for you."

Link arrived then, and the conversation slid to a halt, switching tracks to the latest events of work at the bar. And Zelda was left alone with her thoughts - it was time to do what was best.

 

The weekend found her not in the hospital, but in Castle City.

She was alone - Sheik had not yet been given leave from the hospital, Link had been scheduled at the ranch, and even Groose had been caught up in studying for qualification exams for engineering. And so it was entirely on her lonesome that she stepped out of the train on platform seven of Castle City Central, clinging to her bag nervously and scanning for her father.

Ah - there he was. She smiled awkwardly as he pulled her into a quick hug.

"How was the funeral?" he murmured, and Zelda glanced across at him.

"It's tomorrow," she answered softly, and he fell quiet again.

"Did Impa want me there?"

"No, she knows you're busy."

There was a faint chuckle. "Not as much as I could be with her to keep me organised."

Zelda was silent for another short while, then said suddenly, "Let's go out for lunch. I'm starving."

He nodded amicably. "Alright. How about seafood? There's a new Zora place near parliament."

With a little sigh, she reminded him, "Dad, I've been a vegetarian for seven years."

"Right," he murmured. "Well - what _do_ you eat?"

"How about Kokiri stuff?" she suggested, "They have some meat, but there's plenty there for me to have too... there's a place near here."

Sure, the food tended to be a little too bland for her - but it was at least edible. And there was more than one reason to suggest the Kokiri restaurant, Zelda thought silently and guiltily.

It was within walking distance of the station, no chauffeur required. And Zelda had the sneaking suspicion that if her father was going to react in the way she assumed he was, she would indeed be walking back.

It was a subdued Zelda that followed her father into the restaurant, ignoring the way the staff practically fell over themselves to be the one to serve the Prime Minister and his daughter. Once they got the menu, she buried himself in it, scanning ingredients with a practised eye.

They made their order (a lentil and rice dish with plenty of vegetables for Zelda, a steak sandwich for her father), and then settled in to wait, Zelda fidgeting a little with her napkin.

"So, how did your exams go?" he asked, and she almost started.

"Alright. I think I did well enough for straight As again," she said softly, and Daltus smiled broadly.

"That's my girl! You've taken to law very nicely, very nicely." Taking a sip of his water, he added, "You'll be able to choose your specialisation soon. Have you chosen between being a barrister or a solicitor yet?"

Zelda hesitated. Perhaps she could test the waters this way... "I was considering," she said softly, "Something else, actually."

He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Is that so?"

She nodded, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "I was thinking about heritage law. It's law related to the preservation of historical sites, blocking commercial development on areas of great significance."

For a moment, the Prime Minister simply looked blank. "It's very... _specialised_ ," he said dubiously, "Honey, I only want to ensure that you'll get a good job..."

"This will do it," she said quickly, but she had got the answer she had been looking for. There was more than just history at stake, here - she knew her father had approved at least one major redevelopment project on areas of significance before. (At least they had eventually been stopped.) If he had this reaction to something she was at least a little passionate about, in conflict with his own political leanings, then here was a clear indicator that he wasn't really considering her own say in things.

If she was going to do what she wanted to do, she would have to do it herself.

"Actually," she added quietly, "I was -" She stopped herself - lunch had been served, and she immediately tucked in. Her father gave her a curious glance from across his sandwich, but didn't enquire any further.

Once Zelda had finished a good portion of it, she put down her fork, meeting her father's gaze with what she hoped was resolve. "Actually, I was considering something else as well."

"What's that, honey?" he asked almost absently, most of his focus on his food.

"Dad," she sad calmly, ignoring the frenetic racing of her heart, "I'm dropping law and am going to enrol in history, I'm bisexual, and I'm on the political left."

For a very long moment, he stared. Then: "You're on the left?" he asked indignantly.

She didn't answer immediately, spearing some more vegetables with her fork, letting him mull over that.

Despairingly, he shook his head. "Those _friends_ of yours have been influencing you, haven't they? The queer boys and whatever riff-raff you're hanging around with at university -"

"'Queer' is a term that should only be used by queer people themselves, Dad," she answered immediately, a strange giddiness having taken hold of her. She had said it! "Your use of it is homophobic. But yes, university has influenced me." And she smiled. "I've joined feminist groups, queer groups, vegetarian groups, political left groups - and historical societies. Dad, history is what I _love_ \- I couldn't care less about law!"

"It's not..." He struggled for words. " _Becoming_ of a future leader to study, ah, extracurricular activities..."

"I don't want to be a politician," she said flatly. "I want to be a historian. I've already missed one dig because of this stupid bloody degree. I'm not missing another."

"Watch your language!"

Zelda's only response was to grab her bag, drawing out her wallet, and tossing a ten-rupee notes down on the table. "For my share of lunch," she told him, then turned on her heel and marched out.

Halfway down the block, she sucked in a breath and began to run for the sheer exhilaration of it. She had told him! She had come out! As soon as she returned to Kakariko, she would change her degree - and then she would finally be happy.


	25. Chapter 24

The day Sheik was able to take the sling off was possibly the happiest of his life.

He had kept it on for as long as he possibly could, allowing his collar bone to heal straight and true, resting his ankle, not doing anything too strenuous (like laughing or breathing particularly deeply) with his ribs. Now, it seemed, it was going to pay off - the day of the audition had finally arrived, and he was moving his arm just fine.

That was good. He would rather be needing his arm.

But first, though, there was the entire rest of the ahead before the audition late in the afternoon. They had celebrated by going out - all of them, himself and Link and Zelda, but also Shiki and Malon and Groose and, down from Castle Town, Ilia as well. It was a celebration - the end of Malon's and his first successful semester at university, the decision for Zelda and Groose to follow their passions, the end of Ilia's exams, and, indeed, high school, and for finally getting the sling off. The cast on his ankle would have to remain a little longer - but oh, that was something he could deal with.

Only Link and Shiki didn't have something to celebrate, and Sheik shifted his leg to press his thigh against Link's, a quiet and unseen bit of comfort and support.

"After Sheik gets to be a world famous harpist," Ilia suggested brightly, "We should go out drinking! Link, you're working tonight, right?"

Link laughed a little, sitting back and sipping at his coffee. "Yeah. Are you sure you guys want to come to, uh, my work, though?" His gaze, however briefly, had landed on Groose.

Groose pulled a brief face. "Just so long as no one hits on me," he warned, mock-fierce and baring his teeth. "Uh, guess there's no straight girls there, huh?"

Shrugging, Zelda sat back. "You'd be surprised. Some go just with friends." (She had pulled a face that Sheik had only just caught at that.) Glancing back at Malon and Ilia, she raised a questioning eyebrow. "What about you two?"

Ilia grinned. "Well, I'm not going to hook up. And besides, I bet the boys there are _cute_! We can still make friends, right?" she enthused.

Sheik smiled faintly at that. Bubbly, vivacious Ilia and down-to-earth, calm Malon would probably befriend half the bar, prickly drag queens notwithstanding. (Zelda had told Sheik that she still was uncertain every time she entered Ghirahim's shop.)

"Right!" Shiki grinned, and aimed a pointed stare at Sheik. "And besides, cousin, you need to unwind rather desperately."

"Okay," Sheik finally agreed. "It might be a nice way to relax." Assuming no one did anything particularly stupid, and he quirked a grin at Groose. "I can't guarantee you won't be hit on, though."

Well. Maybe his hair would be enough of a preventative aid.

Link banged his glass (gently) against the table, giving the group a collective grin. "It's decided!" he said brightly.

And they set off again, a sprawling and slightly misplaced collection of humanity. Zelda had a spring in her heels, her braid bouncing in the air as she walked. She had been giddy ever since she had returned from Castle City, having potentially irreparably angered her father, but elevated by the first proper choice she had made for herself in a long time.

Shiki was family, the first new family he had met since Impa had taken him in. Whatever reservations he had had about meeting her were long gone, and he smiled faintly as he recalled wondering whether she would be conservative.

Malon had finished her first semester in a field she loved. She had a knack for caring for animals, but she also had a knack for the harder science behind caring for them. She could make for an amazing vet.

Ilia had finished school, and her entire future stretched out before her. She, too, wanted to go into vet studies - but she had said that more practical avenues suited her just fine.

Groose had grown from a pompous bully doing a course he hated to someone who was actually a decent person, a future following his passions ahead of him. For him, concussions and shattered femurs had been a blessing in disguise. He would find his own path.

And Link... Link.

Sheik's expression softened as he gazed at him. Link had not had an easy year. There had been academic failures, jobs he didn't love, volunteer positions he couldn't make a living off. But he had learnt independence, had welcomed another little animal into his life, and had more of an idea of where he wanted to go. He had found new avenues, through animal activism and through finding a place to call home.

He had Sheik and Zelda, Ilia and Malon, Groose and Aryll and Shiki. His biological family might not have been ideal, but the family he chose to surround himself with was one he could happily live with.

Sheik was rather in love with him for it.

He would find a path, a true one, a way he could happily live. And although that path was not yet immediately apparent, Sheik had faith in him - he would find it, set his feet on a path that would lead him to his future.

Rising up on his toes (or, at least, the toes of his good foot) with the aid of his crutches, he dropped a kiss on Link's cheek, garnering a surprised look in response. "What's that for?" he asked, sounding a little amused, and Sheik shrugged one-shouldered (he wasn't taking any risks before the audition).

"For being you," he suggested, an embarrassed little smile on his face. "Do I need another reason?"

Link grinned, his eyes soft and warm. "Nah," he said quietly, returning the favour.

Zelda let out a giggle, then turned to Groose and the girls. "Well, ladies and Groose," she declared, "I feel like going shopping. Want to come with me?"

It was utterly unsubtle. Four pairs of eyes flicked in their direction. "Sure," Ilia said with a quick smile, "You can show me the Kakariko sights."

And then they were left alone - just him, Link, and the green space near the apartment nearby. Sheik nudged Link's arm gently and gestured wordlessly.

It was good to feel grass under his feet. Sheik found the tree they had first shaded themselves under in the first week of the academic year, and they made themselves comfortable, Sheik practically lying in Link's lap, his head back against Link's shoulder.

He could kiss him this way, long and slow and leisurely. Hidden away from prying eyes, he could pretend it was just the two of them in the entire world, the wind, the sun and the trees, the birds singing overhead.

"You're gonna be fantastic this afternoon," Link murmured as he drew away from the languid kiss. "And when you have your first performance in the symphony, I'll get first row seats."

"I look forward to it," Sheik smiled, his eyes still closed. This was just... nice. "You and Zelda and Impa." The three of them had always believed he could do this, and even though movement produced an ache that never had disappeared, he would not let them down.

Link caught his lips in a kiss again, and Sheik let himself give in to the feeling. This was home. No matter what the next year brought - with Link, he was home. There would be no need to fear or doubt with him, and he could not imagine what his life would be like without blue eyes and tousled hair and a sleepy smile greeting him every morning.

"Love you," Link murmured as he drew away, punctuating the words with another quick kiss. "Are you ready to go be completely amazing?"

"I'll give it my best shot." With Link's help, he stood, reaching for the crutches. At the very least, his ankle would hardly prevent him from playing a lap harp - with his collar bone mostly healed, he stood a good chance of getting through this.

The walk back to the university, where the audition would be held, was leisurely. Sheik couldn't move very fast, thanks to the crutches, and so they had left themselves plenty of time. By the time they had to part ways, Sheik lingering outside the music rooms, there was a good ten minutes left.

"I better go tune up," he sighed, then leaned in for another long kiss. "Wish me luck."

Link smiled, and Sheik suddenly realised - he didn't _need_ luck. "See you in the orchestra."

And Sheik turned around, and entered the room to face his destiny.

 

_"Start with the overture for the Kakariko Symphony Orchestra. If you are successful, you will be playing this during every performance."_

_"I'd like to hear you play this piece blind. It has been randomly selected from our harp library and will test your ability to learn quickly."_

_"Please play a piece of your choosing that is fast in tempo."_

_"Could we hear you improvise? Here is a set piece from your listed repertoire, please change it in a way that best suits you."_

_"What would you say is your worst piece? ...I see. Please play it."_

_"We will end on an easy one. I'd like to hear your favourite piece. And then we will make our decision..."_

Twenty-four hours. They had given him twenty-four hours before they would inform him of their decision, and if Sheik could pace on crutches, he would be doing just that.

Twenty-three and a half hours had passed. Sheik had his laptop (email already open), his own phone, and the landline all within arm's reach. All had their alerts on the highest volume. He was not missing a thing.

The harp had found an almost permanent home in his arms, cradled like an infant. Next to him, Link cuddled Grey in an almost identical pose, and the Hylian chuckled as he noticed the similarities.

"Breathe, okay?" Link told him with a smile. "You'll get in!"

"You don't know that for sure," Sheik muttered in some distress, flopping back (gently) against the sofa. "I didn't know they'd ask me to _improvise_. Or to play my worst piece!"

Link raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You _can_ improvise. I've heard you. And your worst piece isn't that bad!"

"Says the boyfriend," Sheik sighed, eyes falling shut. When would they call...?

Right at that moment, it seemed. Sheik's eyes snapped open, the phone snatched off its cradle before ever finishing the first ring. "Hello, Sheik speaking."

His voice wasn't cracking too much. That was probably a good sign...

Sheik was silent as he listened, his hand white-knuckled around the phone. Link's eyes were fixed on him, yet he did not acknowledge his silent scrutiny, his own gaze distant as he listened to exactly what the symphony representatives had to say.

And then the phone call concluded. "Well?" Link asked eagerly, and Sheik let his breath out slowly and evenly.

And then he reached for his harp, and began to play the overture for the Kakariko Symphony Orchestra.

For a moment, there was no recognition in Link's eyes - and then it dawned on him, his wide smile brighter than the sun. "You got in?" he breathed.

Sheik nodded, scarcely believing it himself. "I got in," he said, and then, just because it sounded so nice, he repeated it. "I got in."

Caught in a smothering hug, Sheik let himself finally relax. He had done it.


	26. Chapter 25

"Ready?"

From the other side of the stage, Link grinned, positioning the guitar in his lap. "Ready," he murmured, and started to play. A few bars in, and the sound of Sheik's harp joined him, Malon's clear voice silencing the last stragglers still talking at the back of the bar.

This was something that Shiki had arranged, a night at the Sheikah bar and cafe. They had a stage, did they not? Link played the guitar, Malon sang, and Sheik...

Well, having a member of the Kakariko Symphony Orchestra playing in a little place like that was a definite boon.

Outside, the crickets that sang out every summer joined them in a duet, and a smile drifted across Link's face as he played. Zelda, Shiki, and Groose were watching with bright eyes, and while Ilia had returned home to Kokiri, he was grateful for having them here - friends and family.

Speaking of friends and family. Link smiled a little more - he had spoken to Aryll the day before, and they had made plans for her to come down to Kakariko for the weekend in the near future. She, too, had her sights set on the University of Kakariko, a year away for her, and he was keen to show her the sights.

Never mind his grandmother or uncle. If they didn't want to be a part of his life, he still had others who cared for and about him.

Like Sheik, his nimble fingers dancing over the strings, catching Link's eye and smiling warmly. There was heat in Link's veins from that look, from the summer night and the lights they played under, from the proximity of people life around them, from Sheikah incense and Sheikah spices. (The drink he had had earlier - that certainly was contributing to feeling warm.)

Like Zelda, hands cupped around spiced tea and gazing up at them with bright eyes, joy and approval in her smile.

Like Malon, eyes closed as she sang her heart out, swaying a little as she held on to the microphone stand.

Like Shiki, who had accepted him in to the fold, treating him like family. Anyone who was good enough for her cousin was good enough for her, she had told him, giving his shoulder a clap.

Like Groose, who had grown from a bully to a friend, someone he could commiserate with and go riding with.

Like Ilia and Aryll, not present at the bar that night, but never far away - his sisters, biological and chosen, an indelible part of his family.

He had a home now, the lease renewed for the summer and for another year. Zelda's father had, to his credit, kept his promise to support Zelda financially even if they still couldn't see eye to eye with each other on politics or academics or... well, on a great deal of things, and was almost single-handedly keeping them afloat. Sheik had inherited a decent sum of money from his grandmother, held in a savings account but there for if the need became great. He still had his job at the coffee shop, Link still had his at the ranch and at the bar. Zelda helped out where she could with tutoring, although she had spoken of searching for something else over the long summer.

Money was tight, it was true. But with his family with him, Link had the feeling they could overcome anything.

 

"Right, Link, see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah," Link smiled, shrugging his bag on. "Where am I going to be assigned?"

His supervisor gave a quick shrug. "We could use someone at the shelter. You like working with the animals, right?"

He nodded. "It's better than being stuck in the office," he admitted ruefully - today, it had been folding letters and sealing envelopes, and he was sure he had a paper cut somewhere.

The supervisor made a non-committal sound, then paused, grabbing for a folder and shuffling through it. "I almost forgot. Have you seen this?" There was paper being thrust in his face, and Link blinked a little before taking it.

Almost immediately, his heart sank a little at the sight of the University of Kakariko logo. "I told you," he muttered, ducking his head as he felt a flush crawl across his cheeks, "I'm not good at all that uni stuff."

His answer was a grin from his supervisor. "Actually," she pointed out, "This is one of their vocational courses. It's run through the university because they have the infrastructure to deal with it, but it's definitely not a traditional course."

Link frowned down at the pamphlet, finally opening it. Applied environmental management... It sounded dull at first glance, his gaze skipping down to the list of career opportunities and pausing at 'rangers in parks and reserves'. Ranger training? And, from the looks of things, only two years.

Taking Link's silence as an indication to continue, his supervisor pressed on. "It does have some lectures, but only one or two a week. The rest are practical workshops, lab sessions, and stuff out in the field - you're mostly assessed on how well you can perform, not on how well you can memorise a whole lot of things and regurgitate them in an exam."

"That's good, I suck at exams," Link muttered, still reading curiously. It only needed a pass in high school... It would lead to a diploma, not a degree... But a diploma was still a qualification of some sort, and he couldn't deny that being a ranger sounded like, well, fun.

Being outside, working directly with the environment... he hummed thoughtfully, flipping to the part about fees. It probably was out of his price range, anyway - or not, he corrected himself as he spotted the part about it being only nine hundred a year.

Well, it wasn't the cheapest thing in the world, but it certainly was better than university tuition, for which he was _still_ paying off. "Are there any - um, grants?" he asked softly, almost embarrassed at the question. "For people who - well, don't have much money."

She nodded once. "You can get the study grant for it," she confirmed, and he let out a little sigh of relief. That was one thing, at least.

"I'll think about it," he said with a crooked smile, folding the brochure and tucking it in a pocket. "Thanks."

She waved him off, and Link departed alone with his thoughts, hands in his pockets and one around the brochure as he made his way home.

A course, and even a limited amount of lectures was still lectures... but maybe he could do it properly this time. He could ask for help if he was struggling, a firmer path set before his feet. There was a decision ahead of him now - he could continue as he was, working two jobs he didn't like a great deal, with no prospects in sight...

Or he could try again, and this time, he wouldn't give up. This time, he'd fight for his future, take the path of his life that had gone just a little off-kilter and set it on its way.

What did he want to do? The question he had been asked all through high school had only ever got a vague 'work with animals'. Now he had a concrete solution - here was a course that he could do, that would get him out in the open air and into nature. He only had to be courageous enough, to try to learn from his mistakes, to try again and start over.

It was a thoughtful Link that made his way back up to the apartment, the day coming to a close as he entered the building. Tonight, they would all be home - if he chose to do this, they would be with him to celebrate.

Greeting Grey with a quick cuddle, he gave Zelda a wave and ventured towards the sofa. Saying his hellos to Sheik with a kiss on the back of the neck, his long hair brushed aside, Link nuzzled against his cheek. "Can I use your laptop?" he murmured, and Sheik nodded, twisting around on the sofa.

"Sure. Did you want to look something up?"

"Sort of." Right - there was the university website, and there was the link for Prospective Students. Typing in the course code given in the brochure, he was rewarded by glossy images of trees, a wilderness to lose himself in.

Link gazed at the image, then shook himself off. Enrolment wouldn't quite be the same - he would enrol in the course at the same time that other new students were enrolling in classes.

But he was qualified. And he wanted to do this...

Sheik had peered over his shoulder now, making a thoughtful sound. "It'd suit you," he murmured, and Zelda, having also ventured near, added her assent.

"You have a few weeks," she read, glancing at the date. "Is this what you want to do next year?"

Link let out his breath slowly. "I think so," he murmured, and bookmarked the page.

That done, he stood, ready to join his family for dinner. Zelda, with a quick grin, managed to produce a few wine glasses and a bottle of... well, apple juice, but she poured it nonetheless, raising her glass.

"To the future," she proclaimed, and tilted the glass to clink it with the other two.

"To the future," Sheik murmured, a faint smile of relief on his lips.

"To the future," Link said clearly, and for once, he could believe it.


	27. Epilogue

"I've got it!"

With practised ease, Link vaulted over the arm of the sofa, grabbing the phone and lifting it in one quick movement. "Hello?" he asked breathlessly, forcing his breath to steady out.

"Hi, big brother," came a familiar voice, and Link grinned as he let himself relax. It was good to hear Aryll's voice, considering she was still up in Castle City at the university there.

"Hey, little sister," he returned, settling back down on the sofa. "What's up?"

He could almost hear the shrug. "Not much. Do I need an excuse to call my favourite big brother?"

"I'm your only big brother," he pointed out, "Unless you've found more family reco-- oof. _Grey_..."

She laughed a little. "Have you considered putting him on a diet?"

Link rubbed at his stomach, glaring (well - pouting) at the unrepentant cat. "He's not fat, he's just huge. I think he's part mountain lion or something. You were so tiny when we got you, little guy, what happened?"

More laughter from the other end of the line, muffled a little. "That nickname has got to go, Link, seriously..."

The conversation continued, catch-ups and congratulations. And then Aryll paused, drawing in her breath.

"Grandma wants you to come back here for dinner," she blurted out, "For finishing the course."

Link went still, getting a curious look from Sheik. "I'm - not sure," he said falteringly, "It's been a while since I last saw her..."

"Yeah, but you've been talking on the phone okay, right?" Aryll sounded a little on the anxious side. "And - she said you could bring your friends. Well, I know she said _friends_ , and she mentioned Zelda, but - I think she was trying to say it's okay for you to bring Sheik as well."

With a sigh, he stared down at his hands. "What about Uncle," he pointed out warily, and Aryll made a negative little sound.

"I've been working on him. He's - he might be rude. But I don't think he'll be hostile..."

Link let out a faint laugh, still gazing downwards. "He probably still voted no in the referendum, though, right?"

Aryll snorted. "Well, he was on the wrong side, wasn't he?"

He did smile a little at that. "Hey, can you get online? I want to show you something..."

Booting up his old laptop (second-hand, purchased with his savings from the bar), he logged into the chat program, plugging in the webcam. When Aryll's curious face appeared, he waved a little with his right hand, keeping his left carefully hidden.

She waved back. "What did you want to show me?" she asked, head tilted a little.

Link swallowed a little, holding up his left hand. "This."

She stared hard. And he explained, softly, almost faltering, but unable to stop a smile from forming as he recounted it, glancing over at an encouraging Sheik often. "He gave it to me when it was in pieces - all these different loops in different shapes. It was a puzzle, and he told me to put it together, and there'd be a message at the end. And I did - and there wasn't a message like a note or anything, just the ring. And -" He ducked his head, a little bashful. "I guess it makes sense for me, huh? A puzzle that turns into an engagement ring."

He glanced at his hand again, his smile soft. "The next week, I gave him his as well - it's also silver, but smooth, and there's music notes on the inside. It's the melody of the first song I ever played for him on guitar."

Aryll was silent for a long moment. And then she let out a squeal high enough to distort the speaker, leaving Link laughing and wincing at the same time. "You're engaged now? Congratulations! Oh my Goddesses, Link, that's so good!"

"It is pretty good, huh?" he sad with a self-conscious smile. "It's five and a half years now. We'll have to wait a little longer until the law actually passes, but..." The self-consciousness was slipping away, replaced by contentment. "We can wait."

With a promise made that, yes, he would go back to Castle City to see his grandmother, his fiance along for the ride, Link ended the call and returned to Sheik's side, dropping his head to his shoulder. "What do you think?" he murmured, and Sheik reached for his hand absently.

"I think it's about time your grandmother realised how amazing her grandson is," Sheik murmured, playing with Link's fingers. "And it might be good to meet her."

"Yeah," he breathed, settling back against the cushions. "Even Uncle might be impressed by the whole orchestra thing."

It was optimistic, but Link still smiled at the idea.

The door opened again, and Zelda shuffled in through the door, arms laden with boxes from the university. Link and Sheik jumped to help her, the three settling back on the sofa again once they were sorted.

"I'm glad you two were here today," she murmured tiredly, letting her head fall back, braid flipping over the back of the sofa.

"I'm glad you two are here for all the other days," Link returned, one arm already around Sheik, the other moving to wrap around Zelda's shoulders.

It had been dropping out, overseas trips, and car crashes, the year they had started university. It had been new courses, foals, and unexpected visits from Twila, the next. It had been graduation, and referendums, and engagements, and friends and family and the world spinning on beneath their feet, for that year and for the years still to come, ranger training and orchestra performances and historical digs, birthdays and Solstice, cats and horses, spaghetti dinners and fancy restaurants, Sheik and Zelda and their whole chosen family, a patchwork quilt of disparate memories and experiences that somehow came together to be greater than the sum of its parts, in the days and months and years that made up Link's life thus far.

And for the future? Whatever it brought, he would meet it head on and laugh.

The End


End file.
